Food grown intentionally for hunger relief.
Everybody eats! And we believe everyone deserves access to good, healthy, nutrient-dense foods. Planting for the Pantry farms urban spaces throughout Columbia specifically for local food pantries and partners who fill the gaps in access to fresh foods. Each farmed space is in turn open to thousands of volunteers and visitors each season. The community joins us to develop greater knowledge and skills in growing food while caring for the land, and all while planting for the pantry.
What are we growing at each farm? Each season, donors generously “Sponsor a Row” so that we are able to plant the food of highest impact for local pantry users.
We ask those who use our produce what fruits, vegetables, and herbs they want to use more but have trouble accessing. Some produce we plant doesn’t typically show up as donations from other sources, sometimes it’s very specific to a culture’s cuisine. We spend the growing season with the help of volunteers harvesting the fresh foods local families want to eat, often foods that travel from farm to pantry to plate all in the same day.
“Thank you for all your hard work. It is nice to live in a community that provides for individuals who without your help might not be afforded the opportunity to eat a nutritional diet.”
Feeding our Community
“I love that I can find all of these vegetables at the Central Pantry. This has introduced new vegetables to my family. I’m proud to say that my family has enjoyed eating swiss chard and kohlrabi–things we’ve never tried before.”
How can urban agriculture make a difference?
You might expect that a CCUA-grown vegetable starts its journey in the field or in the greenhouse. However, we grow food to donate to our community so instead the journey of each crop begins with the Central Pantry shoppers, patients at the VA Hospital, and students at Nora Stewart Early Learning Center. The journey begins with the eater. Every year CCUA meets with our partner agencies surveying those receiving our produce to make sure we are responding to their needs.
In December, the farm teams gather data from Central Pantry shoppers and staff. What produce is always in demand? What fruits and vegetables do shoppers want to see more of? What is hard to find or afford in area grocery stores? Is extra information needed, like recipe cards or instructional videos? Using this feedback, we pore over seed catalogs to select the crops and varieties we’ll grow in the upcoming year. Usually by the first week of January, the seed orders are all in–over 300,000 seeds.
Why are food pantries an important community resource?
Because we are planting for the pantry, the crop plan focuses on the areas of most need for the community. We prioritize fruits and vegetables that may be too expensive in the grocery store or are specific to a cultural cuisine. By February the greenhouses are full of seed trays. New seeds are continuously being started in the greenhouse and transplanted in the field throughout the growing season. For eight months of the year, teams of community volunteers, staff, and AmeriCorps members put in the hard work to seed, transplant, weed, feed, and harvest produce for the pantry. Most of our produce is harvested, washed, and delivered to our partner agencies on the same day. The produce travels only a mile or two from our farms to our partners. Many families see these vegetables on their dinner table the same day they were harvested.
The care that goes into harvesting and delivering produce makes a big difference to families. While our partners may receive “retail rescue” produce from other sources, Planting for the Pantry brings top-quality veggies at their freshest. Families retain more of their dignity when they can shop for farmers market quality produce. Moreover a tight food budget means a family is less likely to try new foods. If the kids don’t like it or won’t eat it, that is money lost. Planting for the Pantry provides families with low-risk opportunities to be adventurous with new fruits and vegetables.
Most of CCUA’s produce goes through the Central Pantry, which serves over 10,000 households per month. Each year generous donors “Sponsor a Row” to help grow food intentionally for local hunger-relief partners like the Central Pantry. Combined with the sheer number of patrons to the Central Pantry, Planting for the Pantry provides a meaningful source for addressing inadequacies in Columbia's food system. Our close relationship with the Central Pantry means we are positioned to provide the right food, presented in the right way, in the right quantities and varieties for people who need it.
Whether it’s through building direct skills while helping us farm for the pantry, or by enjoying a peaceful visit to Columbia’s Agriculture Park, we invite everyone to learn more about their food, how it’s grown, and the system that gets it to their tables.
Can I help my local food pantry?
“I’m a believer that you can heal yourself with good food.”
