Museum farm feeds hungry
Vegetables grown in Elk Grove Village's farmhouse museum made the rounds in years past.
Members of the Elk Grove Garden Club who cultivated the plot took some home, they passed more out to museum workers and visitors were allowed to help themselves to the fresh veggies, as well.
Those days are over.
This year's crop of tomatoes, peppers and squash is destined for the township's food pantry, one of more than 40 drop-off sites for Plant a Row for the Hungry.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are important to those pantries participating in the program that urges gardeners to share their bounty.
During summer months, donations diminish and pantries are often forced to buy non-perishables to supplement their existing supply and continue serving clients.
Produce donations to those sites that have agreed to handle the perishable food not only offers clients a chance to have fresh, nutritious food they might not be able to otherwise afford, it helps pantries stretch their resources.
Anne Feichter said planting the garden with the intention of helping the area food pantry was just a logical extension of the club's mission.
The five-year garden club member approached the group about participating in the campaign last year, which gave them plenty of time to plan their plot.
There are four garden beds at the Schuette-Bierman Farmhouse Museum on Biesterfield Road and each contains some mix of vegetables and flowers. Feichter said they weren't sure which vegetables would be most prolific at the site so they're planting this year is somewhat experimental.
What thrives will be invited back for a repeat performance next year, while the slackers will be replaced by more productive vegetables, she said.
The notion of sharing, and of helping others by delivering fresh food to the pantry, is one appealed to members of the garden club, President Carol Cichorski said. Gardeners love to share anyway. There's hardly a better way to feed that desire than to share and truly benefit others at the same time, Feichter said.