Volunteer gardeners from nine local businesses pitched in to launch the 28th annual Grow-A-Row program on Wednesday.
The Winnipeg Harvest-led initiative plants food items in a parcel of space located at the James Richardson International Airport. Once harvested, the items are then turned over to the food bank to help feed families across the city.
“We appreciate the continued support of the Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. and their green thumb efforts,” said Winnipeg Harvest board member Gordon Pollard, who challenged other businesses to grow their own rows.
Airport staff were also busy as part of their annual Greening Day, which sees employees plant flowers, clean airport grounds and lend a hand to Winnipeg Harvest in the garden.
The Grow-A-Row program was established in 1986 by Ron and Eunice O’Donovan, who used to grow more vegetables in their backyard than they knew what to do with. The remainder was always donated to Winnipeg Harvest and the idea to launch a program surrounding excess produce was created.
As of 2010, 3,300,000 lbs of vegetables have been grown and donated through Grow-A-Row.
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