Plant a Row needs fresh fruit, veggies
By Catherine Edman Daily Herald Staff Writer

Or 43,076 jars of chunky Prego spaghetti sauce.

Or 56,000 jumbo-sized boxes of Cheerios.

The equivalent of any one of those goes out the doors of Northern Illinois Food Bank every single day.

Every other week, Frank Gurkowski picks up nearly 4,000 pounds of food from Norhtern Illinois Food Bank to distribute through food pantries linked with New Life Foods in DuPage County.

Daily Herald Photo/Rick West

Last year, that amounted to 8.5 million pounds of food distributed to area food pantries, soup kitchens and group homes.

And while every ounce of that helped folks who need assistance putting food on the table, fresh fruits and vegetables accounted for a mere 200,000 pounds of all that food.

Good, fresh fruits and vegetables just aren't donated all that often.

The Plant a Row for the Hungry program can help with that by urging gardeners to take extras from their plots, or to plant a little more at the start of the season and drop it off at designated food pantries, soup kitchens or other social service agencies.

Nearly half of all the drop-off sites in this year's campaign sponsored by the Daily Herald are associated with the Northern Illinois Food Bank. And the St. Charles agency also serves as a drop-off site, so anything taken there can be distributed to the 220 not-for-profit member agencies.

"Fresh fruits and vegetables don't stay here for more than a day," said Mary Hayes, NIFB director of agency relations and outreach.

When agencies stop in to pick up their shipment, they're asked if they'd like some of whatever is on hand that day. Rarely are those requests turned down. And the agency workers are just so thrilled to return with such a treat, executive director H. Dennis Smith said.

One out of every 12 people in northern Illinois does not have access to proper nutrition, usually because of lack of money, Smith said.

That's why the donated produce is such a treat to social service agencies.

A new conveyor and sorting system helps separate damaged food packages, donated by area grocery chains, to determine what remains safe for distribution. Volunteer Don Sage, of Elmhurst, weighs and packs food at the end of the line. The system has increased efficiency, but requires many more volunteers, which the agency is still seeking.

Daily Herald Photo/Rick West

"It just flies out of here. They all need it," Hayes said. Groups that purchase food through NIFB, at a maximum of 14 cents per pound, can take whatever they need from the fresh produce donations for free.

And it's often about as fresh as food gets.

When produce is donated to the agency by a grocery chain, the items are often pushing the freshness envelope. But when gardeners donate, they've likely picked items fresh from the vine or plant in the last 24 hours.

Vegetables and fruits are just so important to people at any age, Hayes said.

"It's the food we eat that gives us all we need to fight illness and disease, and to grow strong and healthy," she said. A poor diet is a key culprit in causing damage associated with cancer, experts told the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences conference. Researchers said Americans just aren't eating the minimum recommended five servings a day of fruits and vegetables.

That's understandable, Hayes said, when you're talking about families who need stretch every dollar as far as it will go just to put a minimum amount of food on the table.

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.

- Catherine Edman