Do you know about the Plant an Extra Row initiative started by Sustainable Barnesville in cooperation with WUMCO in 2020? The advent of the COVID 19 pandemic was the impetus for this project which encourages and supports those with backyard farms and gardens to “plant an extra row” of commonly grown veggies to donate to a local food bank.
As a very local community initiative, Plant an Extra Row supports backyard gardeners and growers in the upcounty communities of Barnesville, Beallsville, Dickerson, Poolesville, and Boyds to best manage the logistics of picking up and delivering produce donations.
Spring planting season is starting, and whether you are new to gardening or expanding your current plot, any extra space in your garden to plant extra veggies will help our neighbors in need. Jennifer Freeman at Community Farmshare will help make the logistics of donating your extra produce easy.
Same as last year, please drop off any extra backyard produce either directly at WUMCO Help (in the Poolesville Baptist Church) during their hours (9-12 weekdays) or at the community cold shed at Locals Farm Market, in the center of Poolesville, during their hours (currently Sat and Sun 10-2, but more hours to come soon). From here, the produce will be sorted, bagged, and delivered to WUMCO. Surplus donations will be delivered to other food assistance providers.
If you still need some extra seeds to plant, you can check with the Poolesville Community Garden Seed Bank run by Sarah Defnet.
Last year, the Project recognized a need and took the first steps to organize a group of volunteers to help harvest for each other in case of vacation or other problems that occur when your garden is producing abundantly. Project organizers want to help save your veggies, keep them from going to waste, and get them to people in need.
If you are interested in being on a list of “helpful harvesters”, would like to learn more, or volunteer for any aspect of the Plant an Extra Row project, extra hands and wheels are always needed to weigh, log, sort and deliver veggies to WUMCO, directly to families, or other area food providers. Please fill in the contact sheet at Community Farmshare.