Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Lemon Lady



Hanna Rion said, "The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses."

I think The Lemon Lady would disagree. Probably she would say the greatest gift of the garden is that it enables you to give generously to others.

Anna's basic philosophy is simple. First, it's the strong belief that no one should go hungry (and we can all agree to that) and second, why not plant an extra row in your garden for hungry people and then take all that produce to a local food bank?

I'm not sure how it is in larger areas, but in my rural area the food banks don't keep fresh foods -- just boxed, bottled, jarred and canned. Summer is a great time when the bounty of our gardens are overflowing -- this is a time when it's easy to be generous.

Are you keeping a garden this year? Why not start by planting a row for the hungry. Then go check out Anna's blog and see how far you can take it. Can you top her 4,500 pounds of harvested produce for the hungry? Can you try? Because just trying means you're doing more than if you did nothing.

What about starting a community garden in your town or neighborhood? What are the benefits there? Share the labor, share the love, share the bounty.

At our place we're doing "double duty". I wanted my kids to understand about how vegetables grow, where they come from, and how to take care of them. Combined with this we also learn how to save money by growing our own food, and how to share our "wealth" with others by giving extra produce to my mom and her friends who are on fixed incomes.

We're not saving the world, but we ARE making a difference. Do you have any grand plans for this fertile spring and summer?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

most excellent idea- and so easy to do xx

Anna, The Lemon Lady said...

Hi Wendy,
Such a pleasure and joy to read your website! I will check in often.

Today is a busy day, and I must go deliver seeds, pick up seedlings, deliver oranges, stop by The Salvation Army and shop for tonights dinner for my family.

Kind Regards,
Anna

awyn said...

Great idea--to share part of your garden with the hungry. My community garden happens to be directly behind a soup kitchen, how convenient is that!! Sharing with elderly or infirm neighbors who aren't able to garden is also good since sometimes they can't afford fresh vegetables.