Sharing the Harvest
What starts as a seed of an idea grows to a harvest of sharing!
A friend and I were having lunch one day last November.
“Did you see that story in the paper?” I asked, staring guiltily at my plate. “The economy’s so bad schools are sending food home in kids’ backpacks. Here in Zebulon! Someone should do something.”
My friend nodded. “I know. It’s like that verse in Leviticus: ‘When you harvest your crops, don’t reap the corners. Make sure you leave some for the poor.’ Too bad people don’t just share with each other.”
Too bad I wasn’t a farmer.
That night, my friend’s words running through my head, I turned on the computer. Suddenly, ideas came as fast as I could type.
What if I got some seeds at a nursery and grew them till they were hardy enough to give away? Anyone who took a starter plant had to sign a pledge to share their harvest.
Before I knew it I had a blog. I ended with a plea: “Seeds and gardening tools, please!” I posted that plea on every site I could think of.
God bless the internet. Packets of seeds started showing up in my mailbox. Neighbors lent tools. Someone even offered a bunch of old windows to make a greenhouse. I didn’t know anything about greenhouses. “Guess that’ll be my job,” said my husband, Frank.
A few months later we were nurturing nearly 2,000 plants. By the end of April we picked a location for our giveaway. I blogged about it and put an ad in the paper.
People started lining up at 8:30 a.m. By noon we’d given practically every plant away and collected nearly a hundred pledges—in a town of 4,000!
One family said they’d take their harvest to a senior home. Another planned to grow vegetables for a women’s shelter.
Oh, right. One more thing. Frank and I had to plant a garden too. His boss lent us two vacant acres, and since June we’ve been giving away our harvest twice a week.
Share with each other. I don’t despair so much about the economy in our town anymore. I’m busy following the Master Gardener’s instructions.
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Read more stories about neighbors helping each other out in:
Job One
Road Pals
One Last Stop
The Very Good Doctor
“Did you see that story in the paper?” I asked, staring guiltily at my plate. “The economy’s so bad schools are sending food home in kids’ backpacks. Here in Zebulon! Someone should do something.”
My friend nodded. “I know. It’s like that verse in Leviticus: ‘When you harvest your crops, don’t reap the corners. Make sure you leave some for the poor.’ Too bad people don’t just share with each other.”
Too bad I wasn’t a farmer.
That night, my friend’s words running through my head, I turned on the computer. Suddenly, ideas came as fast as I could type.
What if I got some seeds at a nursery and grew them till they were hardy enough to give away? Anyone who took a starter plant had to sign a pledge to share their harvest.
Before I knew it I had a blog. I ended with a plea: “Seeds and gardening tools, please!” I posted that plea on every site I could think of.
God bless the internet. Packets of seeds started showing up in my mailbox. Neighbors lent tools. Someone even offered a bunch of old windows to make a greenhouse. I didn’t know anything about greenhouses. “Guess that’ll be my job,” said my husband, Frank.
A few months later we were nurturing nearly 2,000 plants. By the end of April we picked a location for our giveaway. I blogged about it and put an ad in the paper.
People started lining up at 8:30 a.m. By noon we’d given practically every plant away and collected nearly a hundred pledges—in a town of 4,000!
One family said they’d take their harvest to a senior home. Another planned to grow vegetables for a women’s shelter.
Oh, right. One more thing. Frank and I had to plant a garden too. His boss lent us two vacant acres, and since June we’ve been giving away our harvest twice a week.
Share with each other. I don’t despair so much about the economy in our town anymore. I’m busy following the Master Gardener’s instructions.
-----
Read more stories about neighbors helping each other out in:
Job One
Road Pals
One Last Stop
The Very Good Doctor
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