Plant a Row for the Hungry
The idea makes perfect sense. Gardeners usually end up growing more of at least a few things than they can use, so rather than let the surplus go to waste, why not give it to those who need it? 
That’s the premise of the nationwide Plant a Row for the Hungry program, organized in 1995 by the Garden Writers Association.
Jeff Lowenfels, a garden columnist in Anchorage, Alaska (yes, they garden there), started the very first program when he asked his readers to consider planting an extra row in their garden with the intent to give the bounty to Bean’s Café, an Anchorage soup kitchen. It went over so well that Jeff introduced the idea to GWA.
I’m a long-time member of GWA, and when word went out in 1995 about launching local Plant a Row programs in other parts of the country, it sounded like a great idea for Harrisburg.
The key to making it work is having convenient dropoff spots where gardeners can take their produce. I knew the Harrisburg area already had a prepared-food rescue program called Channels Food Rescue that Jean Beatty had started a few years earlier. When I told Jean about the new program, she was excited and said that fresh, nutritious food is especially needed.
Channels picks up prepared but unserved food from hotels, hospitals, caterers, restaurants and other food-service operations and delivers it to some 60 soup kitchens, shelters and other anti-hunger agencies in Dauphin, Cumberland and York counties.
Unlike food banks, Channels doesn’t warehouse food. It uses refrigerated trucks to pick up and deliver – usually the same or next day.
Jean set up a network of about a dozen collection points throughout the East and West shores – primarily garden centers and churches. I put out the word to local gardeners. And since that first effort in 1995, Plant a Row has generated more than 23 tons of fresh food that otherwise would’ve gone to waste.
The 2011 local Plant a Row program finished at the end of October with 1,431 pounds collected from nine dropoff locations.
Young gardeners from Mechanicsburg's Green Team harvesting peppers at the school garden.
Once again, the leading donators were the elementary students from the Mechanicsburg School District. These kids are part of an after-school gardening club called the “Green Team” run by retired teacher and avid Camp Hill gardener Paul Garrett, who coordinates vegetable-garden plantings at Northside, Upper Allen, Broad Street and Elmwood elementary schools.
In 2011, the Green Team donated 652 pounds of produce. It’s the fourth straight year these kids topped the list of donaters. The second and third leading donation locations for 2011 were Ashcombe Farm and Greenhouses in Monroe Twp. (272 pounds) and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hershey (236 pounds).
The new community garden at the Ames True Temper tool company outside of Shiremanstown in Hampden Twp. also kicked in with 208 pounds of donated produce.
Channels’ volunteers coordinator Maureen Romanoski said tomatoes were the biggest crop — up until September’s monsoon rotted most everyone’s later-ripening fruits.
Fresh produce is much prized in food-donation programs because of its short shelf life, which is why local gardeners can be a big help. The need for it remained strong in 2011.
“We deliver to agencies that feed groups of people, and they’ve been asking for more because they’ve been serving more people,” Romanoski said.
Some of the best crops for Plant a Row are those that keep well, such as tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, melons, beans, apples, pears, head lettuce, carrots, beets, radishes, snow peas, cucumbers, squash and onions.
Ideally, the produce should be reasonably clean, free of damage (rotting and/or buggy veggies aren’t helpful) and packed securely in bags, or better yet, boxes.
Channels will be announcing next year’s dropoff spots in the spring. In the meantime, please consider putting your growing skills to good use next year to help feed the hungry. Take unused produce to one of the dropoff spots. Or better yet, plant an extra row or two or three next season just for donation purposes.
Channels can give you more information at 232-1300 or info@channelsfoodrescue.com. These were the 2011 collection points:
- Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 1480 Jerusalem Road, Hampden Twp., 737-7923. Drop off at church office Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-noon.
- Ashcombe Farm and Greenhouses, 906 Grantham Road, Monroe Twp., 766-7611. Drop off during store hours.
- Baughman United Methodist Church, 3rd and Bridge Sts., New Cumberland, 774-2005. Drop off at church office Monday-Thursday 9 a.m.-noon.
- Channels Food Rescue, 3305 N. 6th St., Harrisburg, 232-1300. Drop off Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-noon.
- Highland Gardens, 423 S. 18th St., Lower Allen Twp., 737-8633. Drop off during store hours.
- Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 212 Cocoa Ave., Hershey, 533-2467. Drop off at church office Monday-Wednesday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
- St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, 1300 Bridge St., New Cumberland, 774-5918. Drop off at church office Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
- Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill, 5350 Linglestown Road, just outside Linglestown, 657-1760. Drop off during store hours.
- Stauffer’s of Kissel Hill, 51 Gettysburg Pike, Upper Allen Twp., 766-7993. Drop off during store hours.
If you’re affiliated with an organization that’s interested in becoming a collection point, the more the merrier! Give Channels a call to get on the list: 232-1300.
For even more information on Plant a Row, visit the Garden Writers Association at www.gardenwriters.org. And for more on Channels, go to www.channelsfoodrescue.com.
