By Carolyn Lake, Interfaith Food Pantry
Thanks to a partnership between the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Morris County, part of the New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station (NJAES), and the Interfaith Food Pantry in Morristown, families and individuals who struggle to afford grocery-bought food will find relief in the form of fresh vegetables grown right at their own homes.
On June 16th, Morris County Master Gardener volunteers from Rutgers Cooperative Extension delivered 32 bell pepper, tomato and watermelon plants and self watering containers to the Interfaith Food Pantry to be given to local families in need.
Twenty-four food pantry clients received plants and containers and were instructed on how to care for them and harvest the food. The eight remaining plants reside at the Food Pantry, where staff and volunteers are maintaining them. The harvested food will be given to families in need.
“Our ability to distribute large quantities of fresh produce to the part of the population that has the least access to it is limited”, said Katy Galton, Nutrition Educator for the Interfaith Food Pantry.
“Purchasing produce is expensive, donations are not always what we would like them to be and our lack of space and refrigeration is an issue. This project, while still in its pilot stages, has the potential to become a greater part of the solution. Helping people grow their own food is not just healthy and economical but also empowering. It gives people an opportunity to help themselves,” she said.
“Teaching people how to grow food is what we do best. Our hope is these inexpensive self-watering containers will allow clients to grow some of their own nutritious produce in a small space” explained Pete Nitzsche, County Agricultural Agent with Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension of Morris County.
The containers are divided into two sections: The soil chamber and the water reservoir. The soil chamber has small holes drilled into the bottom of the bucket to allow excess water to leak into the reservoir.
A wick inserted at the bottom of the soil chamber allows water from the reservoir to get to the root of the plant, and a PVC pipe is inserted to fill the reservoir when needed. All the materials for the project were donated by Tractor Supply Co, of Flanders, The Farm at Green Village, Alstede Farms and Stony Hill Farms of Chester.
Nitzsche and Galton will continue to work with the clients who received the plants throughout the summer to follow their progress. If successful, the hope is to expand the project next year to give more pantry clients access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
C.F., a food pantry client and tomato plant recipient, is a single mother of three girls.
“This is a great bonus to the (Interfaith Food Pantry) program. The girls and I are taking care of the plant together. When you are on a limited income and dealing with hardship it can be depressing, but there is something inspiring about watching a plant grow from seed to fruit. It’s very hopeful”.
The New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) is an integral component of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The experimental station provides a diverse range of research, extension, and education programs that serve the people of New Jersey and the urban, suburban, and rural communities in which they live.
The Interfaith Food Pantry provides emergency and supplemental food and nutrition resources to Morris County families in need. More than 5,000 households were served in 2009. For more information, visit https://njaes.rutgers.edu/ and www.mcifp.org.
