Grow-A-Row is the name of a great program coordinated by PLANT – GROW – SHARE A ROW, a national volunteer effort that invites gardeners, both amateur and professional, to grow a little extra to feed those in need. The idea is simple: add a row of vegetables, or a few extra plants, and donate them to a local food bank. It just makes sense: if you grow vegetables for your family, why not produce a few extra to share with the needy? And it doesn’t have to be an entire row, either: just a few extra plants can make a difference. This modest gesture can have a considerable impact on food-insecure families.
Origins
The Grow-A-Row program began in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1986, when Ron and Eunice O’Donovan donated their surplus potatoes to the local food bank Winnipeg Harvest. Encouraged by the enthusiastic response, they invited friends and neighbors to do the same. Since then, over 1.4 million pounds of produce have been donated through the program. It has since spread to other Canadian communities like Edmonton, London, and several regions in Quebec (where it’s called Un rang pour ceux qui ont faim), each supported by local groups, businesses, and media.
In the United States, the program evolved under the name Plant a Row for the Hungry (PAR), launched in 1995 by GardenComm (formerly the Garden Writers Association of America). It began with a garden column in Anchorage, Alaska, where writer Jeff Lowenfels encouraged readers to grow an extra row of vegetables for a local soup kitchen. The idea quickly spread and became a national initiative.
Since its launch, over 20 million pounds of produce, providing more than 80 million meals, have been donated by gardeners—entirely without government subsidies. If every gardener plants one extra row, hunger could be significantly reduced.
A Simple Way to Help
Suppose you have a bumper crop of zucchini (and who doesn’t?). The time-honored tradition is to give them to your neighbors so you can show off your horticultural prowess. But your neighbors probably already have their own zucchini, or the means to buy zucchini. If you see them pretending not to be home when you head their way with a basket of veggies, you know they don’t really appreciate the gift. Instead, share the bounty with someone who will really value it. True enough, you won’t gain bragging rights with your neighbors this way… but wouldn’t you rather enjoy the feeling of really helping others?
And while you’re at it, start a campaign in your neighborhood to get others to do the same. When gardeners get together, they can change the world!
Such a simple way to give!
This text was first published on this blog on June 6, 2015. It has been revised and its layout has been adapted.