Growing and
Donating Food
The York County Shelter Programs is extremely grateful to all the farmers and growers in the area who donate food to the Food Services Program. Area gardeners are encouraged to think of York County Shelter Programs if they have excess produce. Some gardeners choose to plant extra just so they will be able to donate some vegetables. There is a Plant-A-Row program which encourages gardening for the hungry.
Lorraine and David Tuttle from Riverside Farm in North Berwick
Anna and Bill Spiller from Spiller’s Farm in Wells
Sue Tibbetts and Penny Tibbetts from Tibbetts Farm in Waterboro
Rachel Harris and Dixie Harris from Harris Farm in Dayton
John Zacharias from Zach’s Farm in York
Plant-A-Row Steering team members included back row from left:  Ron Jacobsen, Barbara Busch, Wanda Cannell, Sue Tkacik.  Front from left:  Judy Barrett, Amy Jackson, Zeld Kenney.
Frank Wertheim and Sue Tkacik of York County Cooperative Extension Service help out with the Plant-A-Row Program.
The York County Shelter Program offers a sincere thank you to all those individuals who are involved in the Plant-A-Row program.  Those in attendance at the Nov. 1 meeting at Denis Hall at the Brothers of Christian Instruction  included back row from left:   Back row standing from left : Anna Spiller, Ron Jacobsen, Frank Wertheim, Maureen Brydon, Rick Alderette, Kathryn Davis, Glenn Wildes.  Seated left to right - Zelda Kenney, Cheryl Shaw, Sue Tkacik, Bill Spiller.
 
 
 
What Is Plant-A-Row For The Hungry (PAR)?
PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE    One 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 2007, participants in the York County PAR campaign donated an amazing  30, 523 pounds of fresh produce to help feed the hungry. In addition to home gardeners ą 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 donation
 
 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.
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)
 
 
Kim Proctor of Limerick organized a apple picking day for several shelters at her orchards.
Members of the Line School staff volunteered to pick apples at the Proctor’s Farm for the York County Shelter Programs.
Ron Woodward volunteered to pick apples for the Shelter.  He has served on the Board of Directors
for the York County Shelter Programs for many
years.