For additional information please contact:

Ashley Ramsamooj, Food Solicitor for the Food Bank of the Albemarle at: aramsamooj@secondharvest.org  or 252-335-4035 ext. 17

How Does Plant a Row Work?

 

The concept is an easy one.

 

While you're planting your own garden vegetables, set aside one extra row and allocate it to the Plant A Row for the Hungry. Plant vegetables and fruits that travel well and are good keepers including: broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, peas, green beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers, summer squash (including zucchini), winter squash, onions, beets, apples and pears.

 

Donations may come from surprised gardeners - people with unexpectedly good crops of peas or tomatoes and who, like us, can't stand to see wholesome foods go to waste. Or donations can come from cultivators who intentionally set aside a portion of their gardens to plant a few extra rows specifically for the purpose of helping their neighbors.

 

After you harvest your crop, take your donation to the closest member agency or to the Food Bank of the Albemarle. Click here to find the member agency in your area. These agencies will distribute the donated food from your garden to the residents in your community who need and appreciate it the most.

Who Can Help?

 

Individuals:  Plant one extra row in your garden for donation or donate any surplus produce you may have.

Groups: Organize a multi-garden donation or grow a demonstration/education garden and donate the crops.

Businesses: Contribute in-kind or financial donations to support the Plant a Row campaign.

What is Plant a Row for the Hungry?

Plant a Row for the Hungry is rooted in the tradition of sharing a bountiful garden harvest with others. It's a people-helping-people program for home gardeners to help the hungry in their own communities. Launched nationally in 1995, Plant a Row is a public service campaign of the Garden Writers Association of America and has been sponsored by the HGTV television network since 1999.

Plant a Row has grown exponentially through continued media support, individual and company sponsorship, and volunteerism.  It took the first five years to reach the milestone of a cumulative total of one million pounds of donated produce. In the next two years, a million pounds of food was donated each year. This is a significant contribution when you consider that each pound of food donated equals 4 meals. In 2003, more than 1.3 million pounds of fresh produce were donated, generating meals for over 5.5 million needy recipients.

 

Plant a Row for the Hungry is rooted in the tradition of sharing a bountiful garden harvest with others. It's a people-helping-people program for home gardeners to help the hungry in their own communities. Launched in 1995, it is a public service campaign of the Garden Writers Association of America, sponsored since 1999 by the HGTV television network.
Plant a Row (PAR) began in Anchorage, AK, in the garden column of Jeff Lowenfels, former Garden Writers Association president, when he asked gardeners to plant a row of vegetables for Bean’s Cafe, an Anchorage soup kitchen. Since then, PAR has grown exponentially through continued media support, individual and company sponsorship, and volunteerism. Launched nationally in 1995 by the Garden Writers Association of America, the Plant a Row for the Hungry campaign raises donations of fresh produce for local pantries and soup kitchens that serve families in need.