High Plains Helping Hands Inc. has joined the AmpleHarvest.org campaign, which is a nationwide program that enables neighborhood food pantries accessibility to backyard gardeners who want to share their excess garden bounty with neighbors in need.With one out of six American families now relying on food pantries, meeting the demand is a challenge.Many backyard gardenersí vegetable, fruit, herb and nut gardens provide far more produce than they can use or share with friends. The remainder is often either left to rot in the garden or put into the trash, which contributes to pollution issues.Gardeners who want to share part of their harvest are often unable to find local pantries because they typically do not have a yellow page listing or an Internet presence.Food pantries almost never have access to fresh food because of the structure of the American food bank network, which means pantry clients have access only to canned vegetables and fruit. The AmpleHarvest.org website enables food pantries to register their name, phone, address, an optional photograph of the pantry to make it easier to find, and the days and times they can accept produce.†Gardeners and other donors also have the option of using the AmpleHarvest iPhone and Android apps available as a free download.Now that High Plains Helping Hands Inc. is part of the AmpleHarvest.org campaign, area backyard and community gardeners will be able to quickly find the pantry using the personalized driving instructions available on the site.† More than 6,000 (and growing) food pantries participate nationwide.The AmpleHarvest.org founder, Gary Oppenheimer, said, ìIn 2007, my own garden grew more produce than we could possibly use, and I quickly found that there are only so many cucumbers you can give to friends and still have them call you a friend. Our community garden also left a lot of produce to rot on the vines.îAmpleHarvest.org (http://AmpleHarvest.org) is a nationwide 501(c)3 nonprofit anti-hunger effort, supported by Google Inc., the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Gardening Association, Rotary International, Feeding America and most of Americaís food banks, as well as the National Council of Churches.High Plains Helping Hands welcomes fresh produce donations for its clients.† Additionally, the pantry will post information on items in short supply on the site.
