Community Food Initiative is hosting its annual Free Seed Giveaway to help low-income families in the Athens area by encouraging them to grow their own food.
On March 22, CFI will give away bags of seeds at its location at 94 Columbus Road. Bean, corn, lettuce and potato seeds are pre-bagged and given to families in Athens and the surrounding counties, said Ronda Clark, executive director at CFI.
We hit a lot of the rural areas
Clark said, adding most of the residents there already have gardens.
The goal of the seed giveaway is for the seeds to help low-income families in rural areas save money by not having to buy produce or seeds.
We help people be food secure in anyway we can Clark said.
(Giving them the seeds) encourages them to be responsible for themselves and to try to help themselves by growing gardens said Steven Conrad, a member of the Athens' Friends Meeting building committee in Chauncey. Athens' Friends helps with the Free Seed Giveaway and runs a similar program in Chauncey.
If you teach people to plant gardens ... once they are given the supplies and once they learn how to do it
they are going to be more inclined to do it
Conrad said.
Almost 50 million people in the United States do not have access to food, and some in Athens face this problem, said David Holben, a nutrition and dietetics professor. Teaching people to garden helps build their food access.
(People who are taught to garden) are going to be more
self-sufficient
Conrad said.
The Free Seed Giveaway started in the 1990s. Each year, about 1,350 pounds of potatoes and more than 400 pounds of seeds are given away, Clark said. Individuals and organizations donate the seeds to CFI. Donations can be dropped off at CFI, and March 5 is the last day to donate.
This year, CFI is also launching its Seed Saving Program. The program teaches people how to save and reuse seeds. Most family gardens produce more than enough food for one family, and giving back even a little can be a great help, Clark said.
The world we live in is falling to pieces
and I don't think anything I do is going to stop what I see coming
but if I do nothing
I am part of the problem
Conrad said.
