Plethora Of Potatoes Planted, Harvested By Sorority For Food-Insecure Families

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MD —Almost 2,000 potatoes have been delivered to the Elizabeth House in Laurel this holiday season to help food insecure families have a fresh, healthy produce option at the dinner table. Members of the Psi Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. planted the potatoes as part of their "1,908 potato harvest gardening project."

“The purpose of this initiative is to grow and harvest healthy and nutritious potatoes to fight against food insecurity in Prince George’s County,” Benita A. Swindell, Psi Epsilon Omega president, said. “We wanted to plant and harvest 1,908 potatoes to donate to a local food pantry in September or October. Growing 1,908 potatoes is significant because the sorority was founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.”

The sorority used an 8x8 gardening plot at the Bowie Community Garden Center. Psi Epsilon Omega’s Environmental Justice Subcommittee highlighted food insecurity as an environmental justice issue, Swindell said, which is why the chapter launched the potato project.

“Serving the community is our priority; we strive to meet the most pressing needs of people and families in our service areas of Laurel, Bowie and Greenbelt,” Swindell said. “Eventually we hope our potato harvest is going to multiply and feed plenty.”