Plant a Row for the Hungry

[Nu Kua]

I was browsing the web looking for ideas to coordinate a high school community action/volunteer program, and came across this program.
Here's to spreading the word.

Plant a Row for the Hungry

The purpose of PAR is to create and sustain a grassroots program whereby garden writers utilize their media position with local newspapers, magazines and radio/TV programs to encourage their readers/listeners to donate their surplus garden produce to local food banks, soup kitchens and service organizations to help feed America’s hungry.

PAR’s success hinges on its people-helping-people approach. The concept is simple. There are over 70 million gardeners in the U.S. alone, many of which plant vegetables and harvest more than they can consume. If every gardener plants one extra row of vegetables and donates their surplus to local food banks and soup kitchens, a significant impact can be made on reducing hunger. Food agencies will have access to fresh produce, funds earmarked for produce can be redirected to other needed items and the hungry of America will have more and better food than is presently available.

Why can't a Presidential candidate get behind an idea like this?
No matter, it would be better, I think, to build a consensus from within smaller communities. Realistic and workable ideas such as this should be presented at city council meetings, and be put on the agendas of local politicians as well.
About electing politicians- if we can get people "in" who would promote good, workable ideas, they will gain a following as they potentially "go up the ladder". We could possibly begin to make real changes on a grander scale, but we really do have to start small, first.

Here is info for how to start a campaign.

[lycanox]

The best thing would be to learn them how to properly use resources.
Instead of growing food for them to hand out.

This idea would only result in a increased blackmail opportunity for the west.

[Nu Kua]

We could also follow Cuba's example and maybe implement an Urban Farming program.

Urban Agriculture in Cuba

...Cuban organic urban agriculture efforts really picked up after 1991, according to statistical analysis. The areas inside cities and towns devoted to agricultural production grew several times in the short period between 1992 and 1997, providing the population with fresh vegetables at reasonable cost. The urban agriculture program today is aiming at the FAO objective of providing each person with no less than 300 grams of fresh vegetables every day, the figure which is considered ideal from a health care point of view.

Among the most popular crops are tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cabbage, and carrotsInstead of taking synthetic vitamins and minerals, Cuban physicians say, the best thing a person can do from a nutritional point of view is to eat no less than 300 grams, or about three quarters of a pound, of fresh vegetables every day. Organic urban farming today is already reaching this target in several Cuban municipalities, and in others, it is making a substantial contribution to that goal. Organic urban farming makes very efficient use of whatever plot of land is available, is a source of employment for many persons, and provides fresh produce with zero transportation costs, so it is a really environmentally sound approach. Among the most popular crops are tomatoes, lettuce, onions, cabbage, and carrots...

You can see that this can also be utilized as an effort towards better overall health- and would lessen our reliance on the medical industry as a whole.

Cuba's urban farming efforts warranted a mention in todays international news wire, as well.

Cuba's urban farming program a stunning success

...Bouza was a research biologist, living a solidly middle-class existence, when the collapse of the Soviet Union - and the halt of its subsidized food shipments to Cuba - effectively cut her government salary to $3 a month. Suddenly, a trip to the grocery store was out of reach.

So she quit her job, and under a program championed by then-Defense Minister Raul Castro, asked the government for the right to farm an overgrown, half-acre lot near her Havana home. Now, her husband tends rows of tomatoes, sweet potatoes and spinach, while Bouza, 48, sells the produce at a stall on a busy street.

Neighbors are happy with cheap vegetables fresh from the field. Bouza never lacks for fresh produce, and she pulls in between $100 to $250 a month - many times the average government salary of $19...

Also article and some more background in Organic Consumers.

Originally Posted by Lycanox

The best thing would be to learn them how to properly use resources.
Instead of growing food for them to hand out.

This idea would only result in a increased blackmail opportunity for the west.

One problem to work on at a time. Most of the people who do have to rely on food banks already are not in a position to begin farming for themselves. If they were farming for themselves successfully, they wouldn't be having to ask for food, now would they?
I've had the opportunity to be close to people who have received food from a food bank, and it is not unusual to hear someone offer to do some sort of work in return for the food. I am sure most of the offers are sincere. It would only be a few steps away from having some of these people help out in the community garden, and maybe even one day having a plot for their own family. In fact, it would be an investment for the country to fund the renting of a few plots for use by the very poor, and provide education opportunities on how to utilize it. This could mean less reliance on the food banks and perhaps federally funded food stamps, as well. Plus, the individual would have more of a sense of purpose in life, and also an opportunity to get back on their feet in some way.
Part of the program I am hoping to get going with the high school involves us renting a plot in the community garden, to grow food to donate to the food banks.
Some of the kids who have already expressed interest have never gardened before, so we could be teaching in that way, for a start.
I'm having a hard time seeing an opportunity for blackmail for a farmer to offer extra produce to distribute among the poor in his or her community.