For a couple of months, Plant One More has been partnering with Youth Emergency Services to provide fresh, homegrown produce to the youth served by YES. YES youth have been excited to receive this generous, weekly gift, and YES wanted to share the story of how this program came to be. We checked in with the founder and organizer, Vicky Houston, to tell us more about it.
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How did you decide to start Plant One More?
My family and I garden on a pretty small scale and have some neighbors who garden, too. It seems like each year everything gets ripe all at once and everyone is trying to give their extra produce to family, friends, and coworkers. My daughter, Eva, and I thought it would be nice to have a way to collect some of the extra produce and give it to some people who may not be able to garden on their own or have access to fresh, local produce otherwise. I didn’t know how to go about collecting it
Last year, Eva and I joined Countryside Community Church. After talking to Mary Beth Link, our Life Ministries Directer, the idea for Plant One More was brought before the Ministers and approved. Eva and I then purchased the url for the website, and a dear friend of mine, Diane Wanek, created our logo and we were ready to go!
Eva and I had no idea what to expect in the beginning. We made our sign – “Plant One More – Produce Donations” and stuck it on our table which is set up in the courtyard of the church. We have a can for cash donations also. (This will be used to buy seedlings to hand out to gardeners next May.) We sat in our chairs and waited. The first week we didn’t get anything at all. That’s OK, we thought, it’s a new program and it’s been a rainy summer. Lot’s of people stopped by to see what we were doing or to say something like “I’ll have zucchini ready for you next week!” It’s fun to talk to all of the folks who stop by about their gardens. We’ve met a lot of people this way. We hope that the produce we are bringing in is being enjoyed by YES, it’s been a great experience for Eva and me.
Why did you choose YES as an organization to donate the produce to?
Our church has worked with YES and Mary Fraser Meints in the past. It seemed like a good fit for us. We are able to load up the produce we collect on Sunday mornings and drive it directly over to YES. My best experience so far was when one of the young gentlemen at the house shouted out “Thank You!” as Eva and I were dropping things off.
Do you have any stats about the amount of produce collected so far?
Since July 12, we have collected 180 lbs of produce. We have received, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatos, potatos, beans, eggplant, carrots, squash, rhubarb , jalapenos and basil. We have collected more zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes than anything else. We have two more weeks left of the program this year; September 6 is our final day. Our goal is collect twice as much next year.
How can others help your mission?
We can use volunteers next year! Visit our website, and click on the volunteer link.
Produce drop off location:
Where: Countryside Community Church, 87th and Pacific Street, Omaha, NE
When: Sunday mornings until September 6, 2015 – 8:30 AM – 11:00 AM
For more information:
www.PlantOneMore.org
www.facebook.com/plantonemore
www.pinterest.com/plantonemore/
If you have questions or suggestions for us, we can be reached at: info@plantonemore.org
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