Mission Statement
Our mission is to help those in need through a volunteer effort of planting, picking, and delivering fresh produce, via a unique model that: heightens awareness of socio-economic issues, highlights the importance of local farms, and inspires volunteers across many generations and skill sets.

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About Hunger

January 2011 – “A slow economy has forced food pantries and soup kitchens into high gear, with nearly 50 percent more people depending on them since 2006.”

“Overburdened Food Banks Can’t Say No to Junk” a report by National Public Radio

Hunger persists in the U.S.

“In 2009, 14.7 percent of U.S. households (17.4 million) were food insecure, meaning that at some time during the year, they had difficulty providing enough food for all members due to insufficient resources. The percentage was essentially unchanged from 2008 (14.6 percent), remaining at the highest level observed since food security surveys were initiated in 1995.

More households have sought additional resources from public and private sources. Since 2001, the number of households that reported obtaining emergency food from a food pantry over the previous 12 months rose. The largest increase occurred between 2007 and 2009, when households using food pantries rose by 44 percent from 3.9 to 5.6 million households.

Over the same period, food pantry use by married-couple families rose 66 percent; multiple-adult households without children, 57 percent; and households located in the Midwest, 65 percent. The number of food pantry users grew at about the same rate in metro and nonmetro areas in 2007-09. In 2009, however, food pantry use in suburban areas topped that in principal cities for the first time since 2001.”                      - From “More Americans Relied on Food Assistance During Recession” by Margaret Andrews

    America’s Grow-a-Row does more than feed the hungry. We feed people in need with fresh, healthy, nutritionally packed produce. Because of this, we are addressing not only the steadily increasing hunger problem but we do our part to abate the obesity epidemic in this country. Additionally, we recognize the value of adding healthy food to a low budget diet that typically includes foods that do little to decrease the risk of life-threatening diseases. We work hard to donate as much food, nutrient rich food, to people who desperately need it.