ITHACA, N.Y. –– In the wake of COVID-19 creating a new wave of food insecurity throughout Tompkins County, Ithaca Children’s Garden has stepped up and vowed to donate 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to those in need.
In April, ICG joined the Solidarity Gardens Coalition of Tompkins County, a coalition of local nonprofits, food banks, community gardens, and extension agencies that serve food insecure individuals and families effected by the pandemic.
ICG, no longer needing to grow produce for summer programs canceled due to COVID-19, has worked with the Solidarity Gardens Coalition and the Tompkins County COVID-19 Food Task Force to determine how the Garden could most effectively increase the amount of fresh, healthy produce available to the community.
From this collaboration came the decision to donate food from the Garden’s 22 vegetable beds –– giving everything grown to Friendship Donations Network to provide food for West Village and Newfield residents.
So far ICG has donated 744 pounds of produce towards their goal of donating 1,000 pounds by the end of the season.
“ICG’s efforts to complement the work of providing shelf-stable food by providing fresh produce is an essential component of the overall response of the Solidarity Gardens initiative, and the Food Task Force,” TC COVID-19 Food Task Force Coordinator Holly Payne said.
ICG, like a lot of local organizations, has not been immune to the economic effects of covid either. They’ve lost over 40% of their annual revenue from the closure of educational programs.
And so in order to utilize the ICG garden space at a low cost and make the donations possible, retired Cornell Plant Science professor Peter Hobbs, a member of the Garden’s Site Committee and a regular volunteer at the Garden, bought seedlings, seeds, and equipment for the Garden with a portion of his stimulus payment from the CARES Act.
“This felt like a win-win decision since it supported ICG, the growers who sell seed, seedlings, inputs, and equipment but just as important helped ICG use the Kitchen Garden to help those in need,” Hobbs said.
The food production has been led by ICG’s Garden Manager, Jean Gerow, with support from volunteers.
The Community Foundation of Tompkins County and the United Way of Tompkins County T. Merrell Shipherd Fund also provided key grant funding to support the program.
For those who are food insecure and in need of assistance, information on food pantries and where to obtain meals can be found through the Human Services Coalition here.