If you give a man a potato, you feed him for a day. If you show a man how to grow potatoes, you feed him for a lifetime.
Community Food Initiatives, 94 Columbus Rd., will give out seed potatoes Thursday to anyone who wants to have a large supply of the crop and try their hand at being their own food provider. The group paired with Jackson Area Ministries to fund the distribution.
Community Food Initiatives makes it its mission to assist residents in growing their own food and developing cooking skills.
“One pound of seeds can produce 10 pounds of actual potatoes,” said Mary Nally, executive director of Community Food Initiatives.
30,000 pounds of seed potatoes will be given away Thursday, which will produce 300,000 pounds of potatoes. Potatoes were chosen for the giveaway because they’re a staple crop, provide many nutrients and store well all year round. They’re also fairly easy to grow as long as the weather is cool.
“It only takes 100 days to grow potatoes. Anyone can grow them without having to be any kind of advanced gardener,” Nally said. The seed potatoes should be planted soon after the giveaway.
For residents that might not be able to grow their own food, Athens offers several other ways to provide healthy and affordable options with an emphasis on being locally grown.
For many, the Athens Farmers Market, 1000 E. State St., is a key part of weekly shopping to provide necessary staples.
Going into its 43rd year, the market provides residents with more than 85 vendor booths with products ranging from fruits and vegetables to breads, salsas and pastries.
On busy days, the market can gather nearly 2,700 visitors, said Kip Parker, manager and treasurer of the market.
“A lot of people like to know where their food comes from,” Parker said. “People develop relationships with the people they buy their food from. We have a huge variety of products here, too.”
Market customers provided 75 percent of what Community Food Initiatives received in 2013 at the Donation Station — a food collection stand at the market where food is then distributed out to a variety of different local pantries and social service agencies.
One of these pantries is United Campus Ministries, which hosts a free Thursday supper and Saturday lunch for anyone in the community. Volunteers prepare the meals and the food comes from donations. Food is donated each week to UCM for meals, and any monetary donation allows the pantry to shop for groceries.
Though there isn’t direct education about the meals, the healthy options UCM chooses open the eyes of attendees.
“When we serve things like kale or lentils, it is an education for a lot of people whose meals typically are KFC chicken buckets or frozen pasta meals,” Autumn Setzler, the social work intern at UCM and a senior studying social work and global studies, said in an email. “Since we’ve partnered with CFI, we have been planning on doing some educational programs. ... CFI is really making big changes to the food system in Athens.”
There are also options for those who want to prepare their own meals with fresh and local products. Green Edge Gardens, 16232 Henry Rd., in Amesville, is home to the Athens Hills Community Supported Agriculture — a program in which an individual or family can enroll to receive a share of vegetables, fruits and other local products each week. The Athens Hills CSA is the largest in the area and has more than 200 families enrolled from the Athens, Columbus, Marietta and Belpre area.
“It started as a way to be more connected to our customers,” said Miranda Kridler, CSA coordinator at Green Edge. “It really helps provide stability for a farm.”
All the vegetables for the program are grown at Green Edge, which is a family owned, certified organic farm. The farm also pairs with Integration Acres, Cherry Orchards, Village Bakery & Cafe, Snowville Creamery, Cantrell Honey, Sticky Pete’s Pure Maple Syrup and Shagbark Seed and Mill to provide customers with a variety of products.
For 20 weeks, a full share is $1,065, and includes weekly helpings of vegetables, fruit, milk, cheese, eggs and bread. Other products can be added on, and a 10-week share is also available for $564. Local pickup locations are Athens Community Center, Village Bakery & Cafe and Hyacinth Bean Florist.
Vegetables from Green Edge are also available at the farmers market, as well as the Farmacy, Village Bakery & Cafe and Seaman’s Cardinal Grocery.
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