Seeking Summer 2022 Volunteers for Plant a Row for the Hungry

Seeking Summer 2022 Volunteers for Plant a Row for the Hungry

Nearly 1 in 4 children in Story County continue to be eligible to receive free and reduced lunch at their schools.*

This summer, Reiman Gardens hopes to build momentum for the Plant a Row for the Hungry (“PAR“) program, and we need your help! Story County PAR  in Ames began in 2004, with volunteers collecting and distributing almost 50 tons of producer for our community. The produce collected by the PAR volunteers are distributed to MICA Food Pantry, Primary Health Care, Salvation Army, Food at First, The SHOP, and Bethesda Food Pantry. 

Interested in fighting hunger here in Story County? Consider volunteering in any of the following types of PAR roles (starting weekly, June 25th-October 17):

  • PAR Collections – Saturdays, 12:00-1:30 PM. Volunteers pick up donated produce from vendors at the Ames Downtown Farmers’ Market. Volunteers will bring donations back to Reiman Gardens to place in the cooler for weighing and distribution to local food pantries the following week. 
  • PAR Distributions – Mondays, 7:30-9:30 AM. Volunteers weigh donated produce in the Maintenance Building at Reiman Gardens, then distribute produce to various food pantry locations around Ames.
  • PAR Independent Gardeners – Saturdays between 10 AM – 4 PM. Volunteers donate produce from their home gardens and place in the cooler for weighing and distribution to local food pantries the following week.

If you would like to participate in any of these ways, now is the time to complete PAR training on Better Impact! Go to My Profile (upper right corner) > Training > Plant a Row Online Training. If you want to learn more, visit the Plant a Row for the Hungry webpage.

*United Way of Story County. Fighting Back Against Hunger in Story County. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.uwstory.org/fighting-back-against-hunger-story-county#:~:text=Our%20county%20is%20currently%20facing,as%20an%20issue%20to%20many.