TOLEDO, Ohio — Summer may officially begin June 20 but the gardening season has already started. Growing your own fresh vegetables is great and having enough to share is even better.
According to Bonnie Plants, while more households are gardening their own vegetables, food insecurity has more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Believe it or not, there are food pantries that accept perishable food items.
“Many people don’t realize that you can donate the extra food from your garden directly to local food pantries,” said Mike Sutterer, Bonnie Plants President and CEO. “Most gardeners end up with extra zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes that they don’t know what to do with, and if all of these gardeners donated just a bag or two of vegetables, we could make a significant impact on food insecurity nationwide.”
In an effort to aid communities and families with food insecurities, Bonnie Plants is asking gardeners to plant extra items this season and donate the harvest to neighboring food pantries.
Ample Harvest has partnered with Bonnie Gardens for the Grow More, Feed More initiative and makes it easy to identify where you can donate your extra crops. Visit the website here and type in your zip code to learn where you can donate your harvest. Here are a few in the Toledo area:
Mustard Seed Site 9
5420 302nd Street Toledo, OH 43611
Contact: Lori Jarrell at 419-727-1800 or mustardseed302@hotmail.com
Friendly Center
1324 N Superior Toledo, OH 43604
Contact: Sarah Fuller at 419-243-1289 or sfuller@friendly-center.org
Website: http://www.friendly-center.org/
Helping Hands
443 6th St Toledo, OH 43605
Contact: Paul Cook at 419-691-0613 or helpinghands@bex.net
Website: www.helpinghandstoledo.org
Food For Thought
316 Adams Street Toledo, OH 43604
Contact: Jill Bunge at 419.972.0022 or info@feedtoledo.org
Website: www.feedtoledo.org
Cherry Street Mission Ministries
1501 Monroe St Toledo, OH 43604
Contact: Nikki Morey at 419.214.3410 or nmorey@cherrystreetmission.org
Website: www.cherrystreetmission.org
Central Residents Council
642 Division Street Toledo, OH 43602
Contact: Teresa Abernathy at 419.246.3188 or centralresidentsco@yahoo.com
Website: www.centralresidentscouncil.com
TAM Feed Your Neighbor 100
444 Floyd Street Toledo, OH 43620
Contact: Pastor Kevin Perrine at 419.242.7401 or pastorkevinperrine@yahoo.com
Website: tamohio.org
Toledo Seagate Food Bank
526 High Street Toledo, OH 43609
Contact: Mindy Rapp at 419.244.6996
Lutheran Social Services
2149 Collingwood Toledo, OH 43620
Contact: Joyce Willier at 419.243.9178 or jwillier@lssnwo.org
Cindy's Corner
745 Walbridge Av. Toledo, OH 43609
Contact: Cindy Kirk at 419.724.5280 or stlucascindyscorner@gmail.com
Mayfair Plymouth Church Community Food Pantry
5353 Bennett Rd. Toledo, OH 43612
Contact: Shelly Kirsch at 419.476.7093 of skdk1970@live.com
The Bridge
3613 Monroe Street Toledo, OH 43606
Contact: Clara Petty at 419.473.1167 or cpetty@monroesnc.org
Website: http://monroesstnc.com
Redeemer Feed Your Neighbor
1702 Upton Ave Toledo, OH 43607
Contact: Kathryn Tinsley at 419.407.0637 or mzwanda1@yahoo.com
The Storehouse
3611 Upton St. Toledo, OH 43613
Contact: Neiko Jones at 419.380.9357 or riverresources@mail.com
Website: infor@therivertoledo.com
Crossroads FRC Food Pantry
4543 Douglas Road Toledo, OH 43613
Contact: Christina Breitner-Fuss at 419.475.3258 or crossroads@lssnwo.org
Heavens Highway Biker Church
2200 W Alexis Rd TOLEDO, OH 43613
Contact: Joanne Holmes at 419.214.0203 or joanne.holmes@heavenshighway.org
Sylvania Area Family Services, Inc
5440 Marshall Rd Sylvania, OH 43560
Contact: Dottie Van Drieson at 419.882.8415 or dvandrieson@ambt.net
Website: sylvaniaareafamilyservices.org
Jewish Family Service Food Bank
6505 Sylvania Avenue Sylvania, OH 43560
Contact: Keryn Ruiz at 419.885.2561 or keryn@jewishtoledo.org
The Lord's Harvest Pantry
1140 S. Telegraph Rd. Monroe, MI 48161
Contact: Jeff Weaver at 419.279.8000 or jeff@crystalvisionsoftware.com
Website: TheLordsHarvestPantry.com
The Salvation Army of Monroe County
815 E. 1st Street Monroe, MI 48161
Contact: Karen Basile 734.241.0440 or karen.basile@usc.salvationarmy.org
Wings Outreach
12810 Lulu Road Ida, MI 48140
Contact: Pastor Willie Lass at 734.735.1669 or WLass@Charter.Net
