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Community Harvest Project Presents New Initiatives for 2009 Growing Season

Posted on: Monday, 27 April 2009, 09:00 CDT

Adopt-A-Row Challenge and Plantapalooza involve community and raise funds for hunger relief

GRAFTON, Mass., April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Harvest Project (CHP), a volunteer farming organization for hunger relief in Central Massachusetts, has announced several new initiatives including the Adopt-A-Row Challenge and Plantapalooza event to help kick-off the 2009 growing season and raise funds.

CHP's new fundraising program, the 2009 Adopt-A-Row Challenge, calls upon individuals or teams to sponsor a row of crops that will be grown and donated for hunger relief. The gift of sponsorship will raise funds to help cover the costs incurred for planting seeds, tending, harvesting, washing and packing crops for the Worcester County Food Bank.

Plantapalooza will bring the community together and provide farming education on Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th from 9am to 3pm at the Brigham Hill Community Farm, 37 Wheeler Rd., Grafton. The event will include a plant sale, farm tours, baked goods sale, craft fair, and educational demonstrations on containerized gardening, growing vegetables and flowers, canning, and various other topics. CHP has partnered with several local organizations including:

• SweetBriar Perennials of North Grafton, MA who will provide all the plants for the plant sale.
• Grafton High School Manufacturing Class students who will feature the sale of Toxic Free Cedar Raised Bed Garden Kits which help grow fresh vegetables and/or flowers. The kits will help the community start growing their own produce in an effort to decrease food costs, teach children about gardening, and improve overall nutritional health.
• Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School culinary arts students who will bake and decorate gourmet cupcakes for the bake sale.

"This year the need to help the less fortunate in our community is more pressing than ever," said CHP Executive Director, Amy Navin. "We invite the community to join us for our open house event and also ask for your support as we kick off our 2009 farming season."

To learn more about Plantapalooza or place a pre-order for plants and gardening kits visit www.community-harvest.org or call (508) 839-7402.

About Community Harvest Project

Community Harvest Project (CHP) is a not-for-profit organization that brings together individual, family and group volunteers to grow produce on local farms solely for hunger relief. As one of the few organizations that deliver fresh produce donations, CHP provides an average of 30,000 pounds annually to the Worcester County Food Bank which supports over 250 programs in Central Massachusetts. Founded in 1998 by the late Bill and Rose Abbott, not only does CHP help feed thousands of neighbors in need but the organization also provides farming education, opportunity to teach the importance of community service to children, and meaningful experiences that leave volunteers with the knowledge that they've taken action to make a difference. Learn more at www.community-harvest.org.

SOURCE Community Harvest Project

Source: PR Newswire

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