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Plant. Grow. Share.: Bringing Fresh Produce to Local Food Pantries

May 1, 2017

Plant. Grow. Share. is a collaborative effort of Keohane Funeral Homes, the Weymouth Food Pantry and Interfaith Social Services, bringing fresh food to local food pantries. During the upcoming growing season the Plant. Grow. Share. program offers free Container Gardening workshops along with free seedlings to local gardeners to plant in their own gardens. 

Build Your Own Tomato Container Garden for FREE

Tomato Container Gardening Workshops are being held free-of-charge for anyone interested in learning about container gardening. During this approximately one-hour long workshop led by local organic farmer Jon Belber of Holly Hill Farm in Cohasset, attendees will be supplied with all the knowledge and supplies needed to create and grow their own free-standing tomato container gardens.

“Growing tomatoes can be easy and fun and we love to help people learn how through the Plant. Grow. Share. program. If you have a spot of sunshine, you can grow tomatoes,” said Cas Casados Executive Director of the Weymouth Food Pantry. “We would love to provide fresh tomatoes to all our food pantry clients and this program helps.”

2017 Tomato Container Gardening Workshops

  • Tuesday, May 16 at 6 pm at Tufts Library, 46 Broad Street, Weymouth
  • Thursday, May 25 at 1 pm at Hingham Public Library, 66 Leavitt Street, Hingham
  • Friday, May 26 at 1 pm at 400 East Squantum Street, Quincy
  • Thursday, June 8 at 6 pm at Tufts Library, 46 Broad Street, Weymouth

“For the past few years, we have been encouraging local residents to donate fresh produce to area food pantries,” said Rick Doane, Executive Director of Interfaith Social Services. “Even if you do not have the land or gardening experience, a container garden is a great way to grow fresh produce.”

As the seedlings grow and begin producing tomatoes, participants are encouraged to donate a portion of their harvest to either Interfaith Social Services or the Weymouth Food Pantry, so they can be used to help feed the hungry.

“Our goal is to literally have a ton of tomatoes donated to our food pantries this summer,” said Doane.

Grow a Row to Share: Free Seedlings Available to Grow at Home

Local gardeners and food pantry patrons are invited to pick up free vegetable seedlings as part of the “Grow a Row to Share” program. When vegetables are ready to enjoy, gardeners are encouraged to donate a portion of their harvest to the Weymouth Food Pantry or Interfaith Social Services to help local residents in need. “We need fresh produce for people in need in our community,” said Doane. “This is not just for gardeners; this is for people who are committed to feeding healthy food to hungry people.”

Seedlings will be available for pick-up beginning the week of May 22nd at these locations: Keohane Funeral Home, 785 Hancock St. in Quincy; McDonald Keohane Funeral Home, 809 Main St. in South Weymouth; Interfaith Social Services, 105 Adams St. in Quincy; or the Weymouth Food Pantry’s warehouse, 40 Reservoir Park Dr., Unit B, Rockland.

Vegetable gardens will also be planted at Keohane Funeral Homes locations in Quincy and South Weymouth. Interfaith Social Services will have two gardens, one next to their office at 105 Adams Street in Quincy, and one on their rooftop specifically for growing tomatoes.

“We are very pleased to be a part of Plant. Grow. Share.,” said John Keohane, Co-president for Keohane Funeral Homes. “Something as simple as people planting an extra row of vegetables in their gardens can make a huge difference for our local food pantries.” 

How You Can Help

For those who would like to help in other ways besides gardening, the food pantries are also happy to receive donations of fresh store-bought produce. Donations of fresh produce for the Weymouth Food Pantry are accepted at all of their pop-up pantry sites around Weymouth. Visit weymouthfoodpantry.org for a complete list of times and locations. Donations are also welcome at their food warehouse at 40 Reservoir Park Drive, Unit B, in Rockland from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday-Friday.

Donations from your garden or supermarket for Interfaith Social Services can be dropped off at 105 Adams Street in Quincy from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, and until 7 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Monetary donations are also always welcomed. Donations to the Plant.Grow.Share. program can be made online at interfaithsocialservices.org/donate.

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