In this season’s garden, grow an extra row to share with those in need

The average American farmer feeds 155 people around the world, according to USDA, but around 15% of rural households are food insecure at least some of the time. One way to help bridge this gap is by supporting local food pantries, donating excess garden produce, and even planting extra specifically to donate.

Rachel Klein is the executive director of Helping Hand of Warren County, Iowa. She welcomes donations from farmers and other gardeners. “My clients get super excited about produce from gardens,” she says. “If you have a limited budget and you’re going to the store, you’re not going to spend that kind of money on produce. You aren’t going to spend $4 on lettuce.”

At Helping Hand, Warren County residents can come in anytime the pantry is open and take advantage of produce donations, even outside their regularly scheduled visits, to get groceries. “When we get produce donated from farmers, clients do not have to be getting their monthly food order to utilize that produce. We just set it out like the bread we get from Hy-Vee [a local grocery store],” she says. “That’s a way for us to be able to provide food all the time.”

Fruits and veggies welcome

Klein says the most common produce donations are tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and peppers. “That stuff is easier to grow,” she says. “There have been summers when I tease clients and say, ‘If you don’t lock your car, I’m going to put a zucchini in it,’ because I have zucchini out of my ears.”

Some gardeners who plant with donating in mind ask if Klein would like specific items. “My answer is: things that are maybe a little harder to grow, like broccoli, green beans, or sugar snap peas,”she says. “I would be over the moon for berries, cantaloupe, watermelon, or any kind of fruit.”

Klein says the volunteers at Helping Hand who shop with clients offer tips for cooking things they may not have made such as dried beans and quinoa. They also offer recipes and ways to eat the donated produce.

“There have been times we’ve gotten in some kind of exotic produce I wasn’t familiar with, like delicata squash,” she says. “Our volunteers Google it. The majority of our clientele might not do that. But if we hand them a recipe or tell them to cut it up and roast it with olive oil and some salt and pepper, then they will.”

Since these more exotic fresh fruits and vegetables don’t count against clients’ allotted grocery selections, they are more willing to try something new. “They might not use it up as one of their choices, but if we give it to them, they’re happy to take it,” Klein says. “People who are food insecure are not going to select things they don’t know 

what to do with because it might be a waste, but this way there’s no risk.”

Fueled by community support

In addition to help from farmers and other gardeners, Klein says Helping Hand receives fresh produce from a community garden managed by a Master Gardener program from Iowa State University Extension. “They received a grant to start the community garden, and one of the conditions of the grant was that they had to donate produce to a local food pantry,” she says.

Helping Hand also has one hydroponic system in place and another on the way, thanks to grants written by the Noon Lions and Indianola Rotary Club. The volunteer who manages it has grown cherry tomatoes, peppers, and other produce hydroponically. “We found that we don’t want to grow cherry tomatoes in the hydroponic system in July because everybody is bringing us tomatoes,” Klein says. “We decided we get the most bang for our buck growing lettuce.” Of course, they still accept donations of lettuce and other greens, but this allows for more consistency in availability.

Research local needs

Klein says anyone interested in donating garden produce should talk with their local food pantry to find out its specific wants, needs, or requirements. For example, for food safety reasons Helping Hand accepts fresh produce only, and nothing canned.

If you aren’t a gardener, Klein says you can still help at your local pantry or elsewhere in the community. She says, “There are so many diverse ways to get involved.”