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York County Gardeners Make a Difference by Sharing their Harvest!


Planting a row for the hungry.What Is Plant-A-Row For The Hungry (PAR)?
PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLEOne pound at a time… one row at a time.

Plant-A-Row for the Hungry (PAR) is a people-helping-people program.  This innovative public service campaign encourages gardeners to grow a little extra food and donate the produce to local soup kitchens and food banks that serve the homeless and hungry.

PAR’s mission is to provide an avenue through which the more than 70 million gardeners in this country can help the 31 million men, women and children who go to bed hungry daily.

In 2003  participants in the York County PAR campaign donated over 10,000 pounds of fresh produce to help feed the hungry. In addition to home gardeners – school groups, 4-H groups and local farms helped in the effort.

You Can Make a Difference!

As An Individual, You Can:

  • Plant extra.

  • Deliver the harvest to a food collection site.

  • Give a brochure to someone you know.

  • Help the office with support services.

As A Group, You Can:

  • Hand out starter kits.

  • Organize community-wide  planting and harvest events.

  • Plant a community garden.

  • Put together a glean team to harvest produce donated by local farms.

  • Challenge other organizations to beat your goal.

  • Adopt a farm stand. Organize a team to collect the left over produce and deliver it to a donation site.

As A Business, You Can:

  • Organize a company-wide PAR campaign.

  • Contribute “in-kind” or financial donations.

Gathering in the crops during the harvest.Imagine What You Can Do

A large planting or bumper crop will mean a great deal to your local soup kitchen, shelter or food pantry. Even one additional row of vegetables can make a difference in your community. Flowers to help brighten the shelter meals Herbs add both flavor and nutrients to food.

If you have no garden space or green thumb, help is also needed weighing and delivering produce, picking commercial farmers’ surplus and providing storage space for vegetables.

Planting A Row 
It doesn’t take a lot to make a real contribution and the time to plan is now! A typical packet of snap bean seeds produces about 20 pounds of fresh, tasty produce. A packet of carrot seeds produces about 100 pounds. The average large, solid tomato weighs about a pound.

The Need in York County
100,000 individuals and 25,000 families were served by 31 York County shelters, pantries and soup kitchens in 2003.   

For information on Plant-A-Row contact: 

University of Maine Cooperative Extension
York County Office, 21 Bradeen St, Suite, 302
Springvale, ME 04083

Tel: 207-324-2814 (local), 1-800-287-1535 (in Maine)
E-mail: frankw@umext.maine.edu

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Last Modified: 09/28/09
These pages are currently being maintained from the York County Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Send comments, suggestions or inquiries to Jon Prichard
Email: jonp@umext.maine.edu

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