Harvest Helpers Program is Growing
June 30, 2015The Harvest Helpers program for 2015 is now in full swing, opening with Keohane’s donation of free vegetable seedlings in May and then gardens dedicated to growing food for the hungry planted in early June at our Quincy and South Weymouth locations.
The Harvest Helpers program, a collaboration between Keohane Funeral Home, Interfaith Social Services and the Weymouth Food Pantry, invites backyard gardeners to plant an extra row of produce for neighbors in need and then donate a portion of their fresh produce to local food pantries.
We’ve already had more people participate this year than ever before, and we hope to receive even more donations as the summer progresses. So think about the Harvest Helpers program when you get that bumper crop of cucumbers or run out of canning supplies for all your tomatoes! If you can’t grow produce then buy some extra veggies from the supermarket to help the food pantry clients eat fresh, healthy foods this summer.
Seedling Program
We were delighted to donate hundreds of seedlings from Artery Garden Center to the Harvest Helpers program during the last week of May. Free vegetable seedlings were available to backyard gardeners and food pantry clients at Keohane Funeral Home in Quincy and the McDonald Keohane Funeral Home in Weymouth, as well as at Interfaith Social Services’ food pantry in Quincy and the Weymouth Food Pantry in Weymouth.
Both the Interfaith food pantry and the Weymouth Food Pantry reported more participants in the seedling program than in years past, including backyard gardeners with young children and clients of the food pantries who wanted to grow their own food.
“It’s great to see parents using this not only as an opportunity to teach their kids where food comes from but how to give back to the community as well,” said Rick Doane, Executive Director of Interfaith Social Services.
Harvest Helpers Gardens
Through the efforts of our Facilities Manager Scott Whittemore, we have planted Harvest Helpers gardens at our locations in Quincy and Weymouth. And with the help of volunteers from Arbella Insurance, Interfaith Social Services has a Harvest Helpers garden growing right next to their office at 105 Adams Street in Quincy. Volunteers from the Weymouth Food Pantry also help to tend a community garden at Glastonbury Abbey for the Harvest Helpers program.
All of the produce from our gardens, including beans, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and squash, will be donated to the food pantries to help provide nutritious, fresh and tasty produce to those in need.
Food Pantry Fundraiser
We are delighted to sponsor a Facebook fundraising campaign to benefit the local food pantries: For every new “like” on our Facebook page, Keohane Funeral Home will donate $1 to Interfaith’s Food Pantry for the month of July and to the Weymouth food pantry for the month of August.
So please visit our Facebook page and “like” us today!
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