What started last Spring as a conversation about potential ways that youth could help a the local food pantry, ended in a team of members from Rotary, 4-H and FFA growing over $300 worth of produce for the Moravia food pantry.
Moravia is a small town located in the Fingerlakes area of New York state, at the southern end of Owasco Lake, and 19 miles north of Cornell University. While farmland is prevalent, not everyone grows their own food. And, at a time when everything is expensive, the fear was that some families would not be able to afford to put nutritious, locally grown, fresh vegetables on their dinner table.
This effort went from conversation to planning stage quickly for a variety of reasons: the Rotary Club had an interest in community gardening to serve the local food pantry, the Millard Fillmore 4-H Club was actively involved in gardening and service projects, and the Moravia FFA annually planned and planted six raised bed gardens behind the high school for the purpose of education. During the summer months, while school is out the gardens were typically not tended to and any food produced was not harvested. The opportunity seemed obvious.
Partnering to achieve the goals of providing families with local, fresh vegetables was a relatively simple process. FFA agreed to plan and plant the gardens, with the help of 4-H youth. Based on the needs expressed by the food pantry – the group grew tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers. Rotary and 4-H took care of the plants during the summer months, bringing harvested vegetables to the food pantry for distribution. And FFA members, as a part of the their role with the demonstration gardens, put the beds to rest at the end of the growing season.
In order to keep a few common supplies handy and dry, the youth also installed a mailbox in the garden. The mailbox contained plastic grocery bags for collecting harvested vegetables and a notebook for recording observations as well as the quantity of produce harvested. Rotary also donated a rain-barrel to ensure an easily accessible supply of water.
A schedule for work throughout the summer was established and regularly distributed by e-mail (as a reminder). With so many participants involved, no one group, family or member was required to put in an overwhelming amount of energy. And, during mid growing season – when the weeds were overtaking the beds - it was decided that mulching the gardens with grass would reduce the amount of weeding and watering necessary and add to the organic matter in the soil. Comments in the notebook documented the success and appreciation for this change.
The first year’s experience was a good one for all of the partners. And, most importantly, recipients of fresh foods were delighted. There is talk of expanding the raised bed gardens next year, installing a compost unit and increasing the height and weight capacity of the tomato stakes. There is also a plan to further increase awareness about hunger and further promote the effort so that the rest of the community contributes by “growing a row for the hungry”.
Moravia is a small town located in the Fingerlakes area of New York state, at the southern end of Owasco Lake, and 19 miles north of Cornell University. While farmland is prevalent, not everyone grows their own food. And, at a time when everything is expensive, the fear was that some families would not be able to afford to put nutritious, locally grown, fresh vegetables on their dinner table.
This effort went from conversation to planning stage quickly for a variety of reasons: the Rotary Club had an interest in community gardening to serve the local food pantry, the Millard Fillmore 4-H Club was actively involved in gardening and service projects, and the Moravia FFA annually planned and planted six raised bed gardens behind the high school for the purpose of education. During the summer months, while school is out the gardens were typically not tended to and any food produced was not harvested. The opportunity seemed obvious.
Partnering to achieve the goals of providing families with local, fresh vegetables was a relatively simple process. FFA agreed to plan and plant the gardens, with the help of 4-H youth. Based on the needs expressed by the food pantry – the group grew tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers. Rotary and 4-H took care of the plants during the summer months, bringing harvested vegetables to the food pantry for distribution. And FFA members, as a part of the their role with the demonstration gardens, put the beds to rest at the end of the growing season.
In order to keep a few common supplies handy and dry, the youth also installed a mailbox in the garden. The mailbox contained plastic grocery bags for collecting harvested vegetables and a notebook for recording observations as well as the quantity of produce harvested. Rotary also donated a rain-barrel to ensure an easily accessible supply of water.
A schedule for work throughout the summer was established and regularly distributed by e-mail (as a reminder). With so many participants involved, no one group, family or member was required to put in an overwhelming amount of energy. And, during mid growing season – when the weeds were overtaking the beds - it was decided that mulching the gardens with grass would reduce the amount of weeding and watering necessary and add to the organic matter in the soil. Comments in the notebook documented the success and appreciation for this change.
The first year’s experience was a good one for all of the partners. And, most importantly, recipients of fresh foods were delighted. There is talk of expanding the raised bed gardens next year, installing a compost unit and increasing the height and weight capacity of the tomato stakes. There is also a plan to further increase awareness about hunger and further promote the effort so that the rest of the community contributes by “growing a row for the hungry”.
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