Plant A Row Program Offers Seeds to Gardeners for Food Bank

Spring gardening is coming and Umqpua Valley Farm to School hopes people will commit a portion of their garden to ending hunger in Douglas County. The “Plant a Row for the Food Bank” program is set up at While Away Books where people can pick up free seeds and register to the program, where they donate a portion of their produce back to Feeding Umpqua. It's one more step in ending food insecurity in Douglas County. “Our goal is to get 2022 pounds of produce donated from this program in 2022,” program director Erin Maidlow said. “It will be available to the public as long as we have seeds, so we see this as an ongoing seed library for many years to come. We hope to expand to more libraries and Roseburg library once they open again.” According to the Oregon Hunger Task Force, 14.2% of people in Douglas County face insecurity. Once the vegetables are grown, gardeners can take the produce they committed to Feeding Umpqua which will be distributed to the food pantries throughout the county. [In the photo: While Away Books owner Dave shows off the seed packets at the Plant A Row registration station. The Umpqua Valley Farm to School program plans to set up stations in libraries and bookstores throughout Douglas County to allow gardeners to pick up seeds.]