There are many times that I have ended up with more vegetables from my vegetable garden than I know what to do with. I am famous for growing way too many plants than I actually need. After the freezer is full, and all the canning jars are filled to capacity, here are some ideas on what to do with all your extra vegetables.
Give Extra Vegetables To Neighbors and Family
Giving your extra vegetables to your neighbors is a great way to make some new friends and to build good will throughout the neighborhood and workplace. You should not have any trouble getting rid of extra vegetables this way – folks are always glad to take them off your hands.
Donate Extra Vegetables
You can donate extra vegetables to a local food bank, mission hall/ homeless shelter, community center, senior citizens home, local church groups, or Meals on Wheels. Donating your fresh vegetables to one of these facilities (among others) is a very rewarding and helpful activity. The citizens and faculty will greatly appreciate your generosity.
Trade or Donate Extra Vegetables Online
There are several online resources for trading or donating your extra vegetables. A wonderful website for donating extra veggies is AmpleHarvest.org. Ample Harvest is dedicated to providing fresh foods to those in need. You can visit their website to find out how you can help. Another great site is VeggieTrader.com. Veggie Trader is a free resource that enables you to hook up with other gardeners to trade or sell your vegetables. You can also advertise your excess veggies on freecycle.org or on craigslist.com.
Note: Make sure you check with local, state, and federal laws before any interstate shipping of produce, if applicable.
If you have more suggestions for gardeners with excess vegetables that you would like to share, please do so in the comments section below, or by contacting Veggie Gardener.
We would like to invite your readers to visit
http://www.AmpleHarvest.org
to learn about a nationwide campaign to diminish hunger in America by enabling backyard gardeners to share their crops with neighborhood food pantries.
They can help both by encouraging local food pantries to register as well as encouraging gardeners to use the site to help find local food pantries (see /www.ampleharvest.org/InformingTheGardener.php).
Please contact info@AmpleHarvest.org for additional information.
Hi Gary,
Thank you for the information about AmpleHarvest.org. We appreciate what you are doing at Ample Harvest, as it provides a wonderful avenue for gardeners to help out those that are not as fortunate. I will continue to encourage the use of AmpleHarvest. org here online, and throughout my community.
Tee