Plant a Row for the Hungry Brings Home Gardeners to the Table in Effort to Combat Local Hunger

Wednesday, June 1, 2022



WICHITA – Plant a Row for the Hungry kicks off its 22nd year in Sedgwick County this month, by asking all home gardeners to plant a little extra this season, and share the excess with those in need throughout our community. With over 70,000 local residents facing food insecurity every day, this program offers a way for those who love to grow vegetables, fruits and herbs, to have an immediate effect on the problem of hunger by sharing their bounty with others.  One pound at a time…one row at a time, your garden can help provide healthy, fresh, nutritious food for others.

Whatever you grow best and abundantly in your garden will be appreciated and accepted, from the first potatoes of summer to the last squash in fall.  Peak-quality fruits and vegetables are all shared within the community at no charge to recipients.

The program is a cooperative effort between Sedgwick County Master Gardener volunteers and Common Ground Producers & Growers, Inc. Mobile Market, and utilizes a network of participating businesses to collect produce dropped off at their locations and then redistribute it to local low-income and senior residents.

Beginning now through fall, Common Ground collects all donations from these conveniently located drop-off sites, and their Mobile Market delivers the donations to those in need through their non-profit partners:

• Augusta Ace Home Center, 316 W. 7th Ave, Augusta (produce here is donated locally in Augusta)
• Brady Nursery, 11200 W. Kellogg
• Hillside Nursery, 2200 S. Hillside
• Hillside Feed & Seed, 1805 S. Hillside
• Johnson’s Garden Centers at 6225 E. Shadybrook and 2707 W. 13th
• P&P Seed & Bait, 1901 E. 21st North
• Valley Feed & Seed, 1903 S. Meridian
• Woodard Mercantile at 4160 N. Maize Rd. and 1313 E. US-54 in Andover

Started as a public service program by the Garden Writers Association and the GWA Foundation in 1995, the local Plant a Row effort has distributed over 800,000 pounds of fresh food since beginning locally in 2000.

Common Ground Mobile Market has expanded its capacity in low-income and food desert areas over the past two years to help minimize the impact of the COVID-19 virus on the most vulnerable. Together, Plant a Row for the Hungry and Common Ground are working towards the goal of “All are fed. No one is Hungry!” We invite all area gardeners to join us in the 2022 challenge. 

For more information, contact:

• Rebecca McMahon, K-State Research & Extension, 316-660-0142 or rmcmahon@ksu.edu;
• Donna Pearson McClish, Common Ground Producers & Growers, Inc, 316-200-1397 or commongroundpg@gmail.com;
• Common Ground website: https://commongroundpg.com. “All are fed. No one is hungry!”