According to Hunger in America 2014, a major research study Feeding America completed last year, 79 percent of the households we serve report purchasing inexpensive, unhealthy food to feed their family because the healthiest foods cost too much. At Feeding America, we believe strongly that people facing hunger should not just have food to put on the table, but should have nutritious, healthy foods that can help them thrive.
That’s why we’re extremely grateful for a recent donation made by Scotts Miracle-Gro. The company donated more than 800,000 Miracle-Gro® Gro-ables® Seed Pods™ to Feeding America for it to distribute to the Feeding America network of food banks and related community gardens to grow fresh vegetables and herbs like tomato, basil, cilantro, cucumber, and sweet peppers. This donation has the potential to provide more than five million pounds of fresh, healthy produce for people facing hunger.
“We are proud to support Feeding America’s mission to end hunger in America,” said Ann Aquillo, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Scotts Miracle-Gro. “Having access to healthy fruits and vegetables is essential to good nutrition and we look forward to helping Feeding America improve the health and wellness of our communities in need.”
The seeds will either be grown in community gardens at food pantries and food banks or given directly to our neighbors to grow in their own gardens. According to Hunger in America, gardening is one way people facing hunger seek to cope with providing healthy food on limited incomes. Twenty-three percent of the households we serve grow food in a garden to help provide for their families throughout the year. With continued seed donations from companies like Scotts, we hope that we can introduce more people to gardening as a way of putting healthy food on the table when budgets are tight.
*Colleen Callahan is a communication manager and content producer for Feeding America.
