Students harvest veggies well beyond their goal

The crew at Woodland Elementary West School didn't expect to grow 17 second-grade students over the course of the summer.

They were thinking to produce around, say, eight.

They didn't actually incubate the little kids, of course, but grew the children's equivalent weight in food: 926 pounds to be precise.

That's more than double the 450 pounds the Gages Lake group expected when they planted the 6,000-square-foot garden that helped the Warren Township food pantry in Gurnee.

"We more than doubled our collection from last year," organizer and parent Anne Nagro said.

Exceeding expectations was par for the course across the Daily Herald's Giving Garden program this summer. Overall, participants hoped to raise at least 65,000 pounds over the summer and fall.

They did that and more.

The final tally? A whopping 79,297 pounds of fresh produce delivered to 54 different food pantries across five counties. Overall, that's 237,891 servings of healthy food that pantries -- and their clients -- would not otherwise have received.

The highest collection total recorded previously for the program, in 2005, was 71,802 pounds. So what contributed to the massive jump from last year's 61,604-pound program?

Well, among other things, Mayneland Farm in Naperville went back into production on a limited basis, adding 7,000 to that pantry's annual total. Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry picked up an additional 2,900 pounds from some very dedicated gardeners at a local church. And residents nearly tripled their donations to the Palatine Township food pantry, from 501 to 1,361 pounds.

Not only was it a fantastic year for growing fruits and vegetables, more gardeners than ever extended their generosity.

And when it comes to helping out neighbors in need, the importance of those acts can never be underestimated.