Growing Together Food Security Mini Grants
Johnson County Master Gardeners are proud 2019, 2018 and 2017 Recipients!
- 2019 Mini Grant
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Resources:
- Donation Location Information
- Donation Tracking Worksheet- Please keep track of your great contributions.
- Grant Application Resources
- Seed Share Component
- Plant A Row Component
- Educational Component
- 2018 Mini Grant
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Resources:
- Donation Location Information
- Donation Tracking Worksheet- Please keep track of your great contributions.
- Grant Application Resources
- Educational Component
Seed Share Component
With 1,125 packets of proprietary seeds from local and national seed companies, the Johnson County Master Gardeners have distributed nearly 800 (794) packets. Seed Share 2.0 at the Iowa City Public Library distributed 353 packets.
JCMGs had an early distribution at the annual Winter Potluck where 168 packets for core projects were distributed; 230 tomato and pepper packets went to the Iowa Medical Classification Center; 53 packets went to community gardens. All participants were encouraged to “Plant a Row” and distribute part of the food to a local food pantry.
Our last Seed Share will be held at the Plant Sale & Flea Market on Saturday, May 12, from 8:30 to 10 a.m. The Plant Sale & Flea Market hours are 8 a.m. to noon.
Local participating businesses include Earl May and Pauls. National Seed companies include Annies Heirloom Seeds, Baker Seed Company, Burpee Seeds and Seed Savers in Decorah, Iowa.
Plant A Row Component
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Plant A Row(PAR) is a nationwide, people-to-people program sponsored locally by Johnson County Master Gardeners to benefit community food pantries.
Our Aim is to make it easy for those who have extra fresh produce to easily find a facility that welcomes donations of any size and will quickly distribute the fresh fruit and vegetables to those in need. A listing of Johnson County food pantries is included.
Our Goal is to connect Master Gardeners who grow extra fruits and vegetables with those who need nutritious food.
To Learn more about the Plant A Row for the Hungry contact ISU Johnson County Extension Office at 319.337.2145
How you can help:Plant Free Seeds Free seeds are available through our Seed Share 2.0 that will be held Sunday, March 24, from 2 – 3:30 p.m., at the Iowa City Public Library.
The volume of free seeds available to our community depends on generous contributors. We ask JCMGs to record the number of pounds of fresh produce that you grow and donate each year. Seeds will be available at the Winter Potluck.
We ask that half of your harvest from Seed Share be donated to local food pantries or facilities.
Donate Half the Harvest: You are welcome to donate to a facility or site directly and we do ask you to please weigh your harvest and report it at the end of each month to Shannon Bielicke. Every pound counts.
Eight Tips for Donating Fresh Produce to Food Pantries
It is important to check with the food bank or pantry before delivering any produce. Find out if they accept produce at their site and if they do, ask if they need the type of produce you have to donate. Always handle the fresh fruits and vegetables safely to minimize the risk of foodborne illness. For example, don’t harvest when you are sick and always wash your hands before harvesting Offer only high quality, freshly picked fruits and vegetables. Do not donate fruits and vegetables that are overripe, have mold, bruising, spoilage or insect damage. If you use pesticides in your garden, always read and follow the label instructions. Harvest produce early in the morning. Wipe as much mud and dirt as possible off of the produce but do not rinse the produce. Rinsing the produce takes off some of the natural protective coating and will cause the produce to spoil sooner than if it wasn’t rinsed. Do not mix different kinds of produce. For example, don’t put cucumbers in the same clean, food grade container as green beans. For example, you might have bags of 4 different kinds of veggies that you put in one large box.
- 2017 Mini Grant
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Resources:
- Donation Location Information
- Donation Tracking Worksheet- Please keep track of your great contributions.
- Grant Application Summary
Seed Share Component
A new activity emerged just in time for gardeners. Dubbed “Seed Share,” the no-risk gardening opportunity encouraged gardening enthusiasts to drop-off and pickup seeds for spring planting.
Just before the doors opened, gardeners lined-up eager to attend Seed Share, a new partnership between Johnson County Master Gardeners and the Iowa City Public Library.
The project, a component of a Growing Together, a mini-grant from Iowa State University, hopes reduce food insecurity among individuals and families in Johnson County communities. Gardeners who participated in Seed Share were also encouraged to “Plant a Row” and donate excess produce to Johnson County food pantries and organizations that feed the hungry and those in need.
Three popular, national seed companies, Baker Heirloom Seeds, Burpee and Seed Savers in Decorah, participated in the inaugural collaboration, donating more than 700 seed packets of nearly 30 varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers.
Many gardening enthusiasts also contributed their saved seeds to share with others. JCMGs provided packaging, labeling and instructional materials allowing contributors to identify and package the seeds and provide planting instructions for others. Approximately 25 percent of those attending brought seeds to share. Planting guides and recipe cards were also provided to those participating.
The early April date for the Seed Share was selected to allow gardeners time to start seedlings indoors before 6 temperatures warm sufficiently to transplant outside in mid-May.
More than 10 Master Gardeners helped set up Seed Share; all promoted the benefits of gardening and the training they’ve received through the Master Gardeners programs. Beth Fisher, ICPL Librarian and JCMG, was pleased with attendance at the maiden Seed Share with more than 70 people, calling the effort, “Awesome!” "Thanks to all for helping make Seed Share a success!"
~Linda SchreiberEducational Component
Growing Together Video
Growing Together Webcast 2017
Click on the Titles Linked below to view these videos on YouTube.
- Directions on Reporting Hours Online
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JCMG who participate in the Growing Together grant activities in their private gardens or at core project locations and who track results may add up to 6 core service hours for your efforts. Beyond 6 hours will also be accepted but as “other”. Shannon has created a “grant” choice for us to report our hours online. Hours must be recorded online on the Master Gardener Reporting System.
- Location – select: Other
- Location Other: Home
- Category – select: Food Security Mini Grant
- Local Project/Sub Category – select: Food Security Grant & Garden Vegetable Donations
- NOTE: Please make sure to use this Sub Category when you are entering all hours that pertain to this project. If you are working at one of the Core project locations or any other locations please just mark that in the description section. This will allow us to pull an accurate report including all that was contributed to the grant efforts.
JCMG will be asked to complete worksheets to track produce donations.
Examples of when to report hours under the Food Security Mini Grant Sub Category include
Mini Grant Related Meetings Seed Share Event at the Iowa City Public Library Time spent harvesting and donating food to food pantries and related organizations. More will be listed as they come to our attention... If you have questions please feel free to ask.
- Helpful Publications & Resources
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- The Online Community Donation Gardening Toolkit is a robust online resource for information about food insecurity and donation gardening.
- The Donation Gardening Food Safety Best Practices Overview Video is a great 5 minute video to share with all volunteers who will be working in the garden.
- Iowa Master Gardener webinar recording, “Growing Together: Food Security Partners”is a useful video for thinking about additional partners you could pull into your project.
- Iowa Master Gardener webinar recording, “Growing Together: Garden Helpers”is a great resource for recruiting, managing and retaining additional garden volunteers.
- Find many more helpful gardening videos on the Iowa Master Gardener YouTube Channel.