Maine gardeners and farmers contributed more than 25 tons of fresh produce to food pantries this year through the Plant A Row for the Hungry (PAR) program. PAR was launched in 1995 by the Garden Writers of America and was supported statewide this year by University of Maine Cooperative Extension and a group including three Maine seed companies.
More than 400 home gardeners and farmers joined the PAR project and donated produce. Extension Master Gardeners grew thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables in their demonstration gardens. Highmoor Farm, the UMaine Agricultural Experiment station in Monmouth, donated over 1800 pounds of peppers, Chinese cabbage, winter squash and onions from variety trials.
One individual in Phippsburg donated more than one ton of food to the Bath soup kitchen. He was so enthused about his donations and the difference they made that he applied for and received a grant to build a greenhouse to grow greens and vegetables throughout the winter.
Seed companies that donated seeds to the program included Johnny's Selected Seeds of Albion, FEDCO of Waterville and Sterling, Allen and Lothrop of Falmouth.
Overall, the total donation is currently at 50,160 pounds with food still trickling in. Maine's contribution represents one-tenth of the national collection of 535,259 pounds for 2000.
People who manage food pantries say that the donations were critical during times when canned foods were in short supply.
Plans are being made to conduct PAR in 2001, says Barbara Murphy of the Cooperative Extension Office in Oxford County.