Lent 2018 -- Gratitude Diary, Day 16

Plant A Row for the Hungry Garden Stake

Back in 2011, 2012 I got involved with the Clark County Health Department's Community Health Improvement Plan. Beth Willett Jones was in charge of the program and encouraged my participation. After a year of meetings we identified Obesity as a major health challenge for Clark County. No surprise there, and I was assigned to an Obesity Committee.

Well, it probably wasn't called that, but the Committee began to address ways to counteract obesity.

During one meeting it struck me that when Food Banks ask for donations they always ask for non-perishable items. It makes sense. They have a lengthy shelf-life. But they aren't necessarily healthy foods. In fact, in canned goods one of the main ingredients is Sodium, and Sodium is a leading cause of hypertension. The poorest among us who turn to the Food Bank are often obese because of the poor quality of their diet. A side effect of obesity is hypertension. So, the Food Banks often give people who suffer hypertension foods that exacerbate hypertension. Our kindness is poison -- in a way.

I wanted to change that pattern.

I started researching ways to get fresh foods to Food Banks. I came across Plant A Row for the Hungry, a program of the Garden Writers Association of America. You can find out more about the GWA on their website, www.gardenwriters.org I made contact with them and they sent me the garden stakes and some support materials and I launched Plant A Row for the Hungry in Winchester in the spring of 2012. Since then we have collected about 2 tons of fresh produce from local gardens to put in the food baskets at Clark County Community Services. Also, First Christian Church started an Outreach Garden on the church property. 100% of what we grow in that garden goes to Plant A Row. And even more, I have become a part of a Clark County organization known as ALFA, the Alliance for Local Food Access -- and we do the best we can to help growers grow local food, market their produce, promote the Farmer's Market and get food to low-income people.

I invite you who read this to participate this spring. When you plant your garden at home you can either plant an extra row of each vegetable and designate it for Plant A Row, or you can donate out of your abundance.

So, today I am grateful to Beth Willett Jones, now of the Greater Clark Foundation. I am grateful to the Garden Writers Association of America. I am grateful for everyone who grew some corn, or peppers, or tomatoes or leafy vegetables and donated them to Plant A Row. I am grateful to First Christian Church for allowing me the space to pursue a passion for locally grown, healthy foods. I am grateful to Jennifer Gulley of the Clark County Health Department; David Davis of the Clark County Extension Office, Molly Stotts -- President of the Winchester Farmer's Market, Leah Guggenmoss -- Farmer's Market Manager, and Dr. Bill Nesmith, agronomist and participant at First Christian Church.

We are getting healthier foods to people. It may not be much, but I think it matters, and I am grateful to Clark County Community Services for receiving all these wonderful veggies and getting them to people in need.

Peace and Love,
Jerry