Gardening and Giving

One of the great things about coming back home is getting to swap magazines with my mom and mother-in-law. They both get magazines that I love to look at but don't usually buy, like Good Housekeeping and Family Circle. This week at my mom's I read the most amazing article in the July 2009 issue of Family Circle about a mom from Moscow, Idaho, who turned her garden surplus into a way to improve the quality of life for others. Amy Grey started Backyard Harvest, a program that brings the surplus from family gardens around the area to a local food bank. Fresh produce is often hard to find in a food bank and the families are grateful to recieve it. This is such a great idea! If I ever get a thumb as green as Mrs. Grey's, I would love to use it as she has to help other people. The program seems to be spreading out west, but any productive gardeners this side of the Mississippi should definitely check out their website: www.backyardharvest.org . This is a great cause and an even better idea, getting communities to help their own by sharing the fruits of their labor. Their website is also really tastefully and beautifully constructed, a real pleasure to navigate.