Grow-A-Row
For your family. For your neighbor. For your community.
The Grow-A-Row program provides locally grown, fresh and nutritious produce for Kitsap Harvest by invigorating home gardeners to grow and donate their excess produce. Throughout Kitsap County, we have volunteers hosting donation stations including sites at Bremerton Community Farmers Market, Port Orchard Farmers Market and Kitsap Community Food Co-op. Gardeners are encouraged to bring their produce donations to the drop off site nearest them, volunteers will come and collect, and local produce will be distributed to community members in need.
Join us in our effort to combat food insecurity and food waste by growing some food, growing your gardening skills, and helping to grow Kitsap County’s capacity for sustainable community driven care.
Some produce our clients like are brassicas like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, leafy greens like lettuce, chard and beet greens, root vegetables like onions, carrots, garlic, potatoes, and other things like tomatoes, rhubarb, fruits, and berries.
Check the map below to see the donation station closest to you!
Here are some Produce Donation Food Safety best practices to keep in mind when donating your garden goodies.
• Wash your hands before and after handling produce
• Rinse produce with clean, potable water. You do not need to use soap or sanitizer, but with larger items like melons you can use a vegetable scrub brush to remove any dirt.
•
Do not make additional cuts to the produce beyond the one to remove it from the garden.
• Keep produce cool until transporting.
Don’t have a green thumb but still want to get involved?
• Become a Neighborhood Captain! Captains are community members that host a donation station and encourage their neighbors to participate.
• Collect donations! Help us pick up donations and bring them to our distribution/aggregation hub.
• Help sort and pack the boxes of food we deliver directly to those who need it.
• Be a delivery driver! Deliver food to the sites we serve!
To sign up, visit the
volunteer page or email
info@kitsapharvest.org for more details.
*We are a Food Distribution organization and all donations are covered under the Good Samaritan Act. Growers/ donors are not held responsible unless there was a true act of negligence knowing that the food could make someone sick. We work with a high risk audience and we take all precautions possible in knowing where food is coming from and that people donating have the tools they need to follow the best safety guidance.
