Hello all -
I hope that you have been keeping pace with the lettuces and carrots growing quickly in your plots, and are having luck with warm-season crops either directly sown or transplanted over the past few weeks. In this time of burgeoning abundance, it can be easy to take for granted having enough - or even too much - fresh produce.
For several years, EHCG has maintained a donation program, Share the Bounty, for the St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) food pantry here in Madison, WI. During the productive months of summer and early fall, we collect vegetables on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, which are driven to SVdP by EHCG volunteers. If you would like to donate to the Share the Bounty, please place produce in the plastic bins that will be located on the white stands at both EH and UH gardens starting July 2.
If you choose to donate, we ask that you arrange to place donation produce in the collection bins close to the collection time to avoid wilting/spoilage/loss. For instance, lettuce donated on a Thursday at noon would not be collected and transported to SVdP until Saturday morning, and would wilt far before arrival.
Please do not take produce out of the donation bins, as our gardeners have chosen to donate their fruits and vegetables to those in need. Remember that items meant for sharing with other gardeners at EHCG are placed on the share shelves, not in the SVdP Share the Bounty bins.
I look forward to seeing overstuffed Share the Bounty bins on Saturday mornings over the upcoming weeks. In my experience, any successful attempt at growing produce over-yields, and there are always more zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans that I can easily consume - perfect for donation.
Happy gardening.
