Plant a Row for the Hungry - Master Gardeners, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

1. Trumpet Vine March/April 2009 10
PLANT A ROW FOR THE HUNGRY
Linda Dole MG ‘06
As you’re leafing (no pun intended!) agencies will have access to fresh produce; funds
through the stacks of seed catalogs and piles earmarked for produce can be redirected to
of seed packets while planning this summer’s other needed items; and the hungry of America
garden, why not consider planting an extra will have more and better food than is presently
row or two to share with the hungry folks of available.
our community? Plant a Row (PAR) began Here’s how it works: Grow vegetables,
with that idea in Anchorage, Alaska. Jeff planting a little more than you normally
Lowenfels, a former Garden Writers Associa- would (as little or as much as you like). Use
tion president, asked local gardeners in 1995 what you need and give away the extra.
to plant a row of vegetables for a local soup Nothing goes to waste, and everybody’s happy
kitchen. Thirteen years later, annual Plant a and well-fed.
Row donations are over 1,000,000 pounds of
fresh produce in the USA and Canada. You can make a difference! It’s a very
simple system, and it also gives back: many
According to the US Dept. of Agriculture, gardeners who participate in PAR say that
one in ten households in the USA experiences they get back far more than they give.
hunger or the risk of hunger. Many people
frequently skip meals or eat too little, sometimes The Community Gardening committee
going without food for an entire day. In our is now busy planning a system for getting
area, 31% of the people receiving food assistance donated produce from your gardens to the
are children under 18, and 12% are elderly. Cleveland Foodbank and/or other food agen-
Hunger knows no age limits. Food banks and cies. Volunteers will be needed to help collect
hunger centers have many sources of canned, and deliver produce. Contact Linda Dole at
packaged, and frozen foods, but can always use lindadole@roadrunner.com if you’re interest-
more fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs. We gar- ed in either growing and/or volunteering and
deners can easily fill that need. As a result, food I’ll keep you informed of our progress.
MAKE MASTER GARDENERS A PRIORITY
Dear Fellow Master Gardeners, donation from each of us would cover a good
portion of our annual expenses! We have a
With the holiday season behind us and the
couple of tough years ahead of us, so please
new catalogs arriving, spring can’t be too far
consider extending your support with a
away! Unfortunately, the W-2’s have come as
donation.
well, reminding us that it’s time to file those
returns again. The MGCC doesn’t fill your mailbox with
solicitations, but the need is still very real.
If you are like me, you make modest chari-
table contributions to a number of very good So the next time you open your mailbox
causes, like hunger centers, medical research, and find a stack of charitable solicitations,
religious organizations, and orphanages. In think about the one that isn’t there. You have
return, we receive the tax deduction and the ownership in Master Gardeners of Cuya-
combined satisfaction of directing our money hoga County. Why not pay yourself first?
where we want it and where it will make a Contributions can be made out to MGCC
difference. and sent to Joyce Braun, treasurer.
Our own Master Gardeners of Cuyahoga Sincerely,
County (MGCC) is a 501(c)3 organization
and is eligible to receive your tax-deductible Christine McLaughlin
donations. Can you add the MGCC to your Advisor Committee Chair
list of contributions in 2009? Just a $25