If you are a home gardener or a commercial grower, consider planting an extra row of produce each year and donating the surplus to local soup kitchens and food pantries to help fight hunger through the Plant A Row for the Hungry program.

Plant A Row for the Hungry is a national public service program of the Garden Writers Association, begun in Anchorage, AK, in 1995. It took 5 years to reach the first million pounds of donated produce and then only two more years to donate the next million pounds. Since 1995, 14 million pounds of fresh produce has been donated to help fight hunger in our communities without any subsidy or red tape, just gardeners helping others.

Maine Plant A Row Program

Launched in 2000 as a volunteer opportunity for University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, the program is now active in 15 counties. Some counties focus on gleaning commercial fields, some Master Gardener groups grow and donate entire garden harvests toward the hunger effort, while others recruit backyard gardeners from around the area to participate.

The Plant A Row program for Maine is open to all interested gardeners and is coordinated through University of Maine Cooperative Master Gardener Volunteer program.

For more information contact Barbara Murphy at 743-6329, 1-800-287-1482 (toll free in Maine) or e-mail, bmurphy@umext.maine.edu.

Hunger in Maine
Why Plant A Row is so important

• 10% of Maine households, representing 141,000 people, are "food insecure" according to the USDA.

• More than 40% of Maine children under the age of 12 show some evidence of hunger.

• 19,325 Maine children are hungry.

• Maine ranks 5th in the nation in prevalence of food insecurity.

What You Can Do

1. Contact your local food pantry to find out what is most needed.
2. Dedicate a row or more of your garden space to that vegetable.
3. Harvest ripe, high-quality produce, clean it, estimate the weight of the produce, and deliver it to a local hunger organization.
4. Report your donation total to Barbara Murphy at 743-6329, 1-800-287-1482 (toll free in Maine) or e-mail, bmurphy@umext.maine.edu.

Do you have questions about vegetable gardening, garden pests, or preserving your harvest? Contact your local UMaine Extension county office.