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Scouts help Plant a Row surpass goal
By Catherine Edman Daily Herald Staff Writer
We were hovering on the precipice, just 76 pounds shy of meeting this year’s 25,000-pound Plant a Row for the Hungry goal.
Then the Girl Scouts arrived.
And they brought their Hubbard squash harvest with them.
Voila! That sent Plant a Row past its goal for this year — a full three weeks before the campaign’s end.
The only question remaining now is this: When the last vegetable’s counted on Sept. 30, just how high will the collection tally have soared?
Carol Gillis of Knupper Nursery & Landscape was ecstatic to find out her weekly collection report was the one that sent the program over the top. Not only is the Palatine nursery a drop-off point for fresh garden vegetables, the Brownie troop with the whopper contribution is led by one of her store’s employees, Pat Willney.
Brownie Troop 1459 delivered 23 bags full of fresh produce that weighed in at over 200 pounds.
They brought in everything: eggplant, pole beans, green and other types of peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, the aforementioned squash and some "absolutely gorgeous cantaloupe," Gillis said.
Just because you hit the goal though, please don’t stop your effort. The campaign continues through Oct. 1.
Every last tomato, zucchini, green pepper or eggplant you grow may still be the first fresh one a food pantry client has received all summer.
You know how much you’d enjoy such a treat. Why not share the gift with someone else, as well?
If you have any questions about the program, or drop-off requirements, call our Plant A Row hotline at (847) 806-4277, Northern Illinois Food Bank at (630) 443-6910, or e-mail us at Plantarow@dailyherald.com.
The program collecting surplus vegetables for area food pantries and soup kitchens runs through Sept. 30.
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