Volunteers Gather 830 Pounds of Vegetables for Local Food Pantry

Volunteers on Tuesday gathered 830 pounds of vegetables leftover from the 2014 gardening season at the West Street garden plots and will donate the produce the Loaves & Fishes Community Pantry.

The 86 volunteers included master gardeners from the University of Illinois Extension and Naperville Community Gardeners, Naperville Park District Garden Plot ambassadors, employees from Molex, two groups of high school vocational students and staff, Garden Plot gardeners and other individual volunteers.

Naperville Park District Volunteer Coordinator Lynnette Hoole said she was grateful to the volunteers for their “sense of adventure” and their persistence in the rainy conditions.

Master Gardeners Ron Ory and Logan Wasson developed the idea to glean vegetables at the Garden Plots in 2011 when the first group of volunteers gathered 160 pounds of vegetables.

The master gardeners maintain their own garden plots, called “Plant a Row,” dedicated to providing produce for Loaves & Fishes all summer long. Other gardeners donate vegetables as well, using a donation station set up at the plots during the gardening season.

The 2014 yield from “Plant a Row” and other donations during the season was 1,850 pounds. The total amount donated, including the Oct. 14, gleaning was 2,680 pounds.