Free seeds helping Americans get by, live healthier (CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Allie Torgan, CNN
July 14, 2011 4:06 p.m. EDT

San Antonio, Texas (CNN) -- For Holly Hirshberg, gardening started as a way to bond with her children. But when the recession hit, her backyard hobby became a necessity.

"In 2008, my husband lost his job just like many other Americans, and we were living off of our garden," she said.

Hirshberg and her family of four ate a variety of homegrown foods -- including broccoli, carrots, okra, squash and tomatoes -- so they could make ends meet. She was pleasantly surprised by how simple and healthful they were.
***
After realizing how much nutritious food she was able to grow, Hirshberg began collecting seeds from her garden and sharing them with others.

In 2008, she started The Dinner Garden, an organization that provides free packs of seeds to people so they can grow enough food to feed a family of four. Since its inception, The Dinner Garden has provided seeds to 65,000 families across the United States.
***
more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/14/cnnheroes.hirshberg.seeds/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1
http://www.dinnergarden.org /

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. k&r before I even read the full article. Love stories like this

[provis99]

2. so how long until Monsanto sues her?

or a Texas Republican passes a law against giving away free seeds?

think it won't happen? You already can't give away free food to homeless people in Orlando, thanks to Republicans.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. that crossed my mind also. n/t

[Desertrose]

6. I wondered about that too...best to stay under the radar these days

[Desertrose]

4. This is really cool!

My little garden is doing well now...after some of our javalina (wild pigs) broke through the fence and pretty much trashed it...had to start over with a lot....what made me most sad (& pissed!!!) was losing a beautiful 2 yr old fennel plant.

[NYC_SKP]

5. Heartwarming story. K and R.

:thumbsup:

[pinto]

7. Kick

:kick:

[cutlassmama]

8. k&r

[indurancevile]

9. Sorry to be a party-pooper, but this is silly. I can get packets of seeds for $1 at ace

hardware. Or I can get them free e.g. by walking around and asking backyard gardeners, planting potatoes that sprouted, etc. Or by going to the university extension office & asking around.

The most inefficient way I can think of is to have someone set up a foundation so they can mail me some seeds.

This is the kind of "feel-good" charity that doesn't really do a damn thing.

No one who isn't already a gardner feeds a family of four just by putting some donated seeds in the ground. It ain't quite that easy.

This is a scam to provide Holly with a salary. Smart.

Edit: I googled herr. She's on TED-talks. Rich Silicon valley types hype their pet hobbyhorses. Strictly for the yuppies.

"What if the solutin to hunger is in your backyarrd?"

Uh, holly, if you have a backyard that's "yours", you're probably not hungry. I don't understand why this kind of stuff is so appealing to some people. People aren't poor because they don't know how to garden. holly is all over the media -- family circle, ted-talks, cnn, etc. I think that kind of wall-to-wall coverage comes from connections.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MplF9sEGPzc

The more I see of this woman the more she bugs me. Her organization also directs its clients to good WEBSITES where they can get "the latest information" about gardening.

Websites?

And when the clients are done gardening, her organization will direct them to another WEBSITE that will tell them where the closest food pantry is that they can donate their produce to. How brilliant, I'm sure this website is much more up to speed about places where i can donate food to locally than say my local city/county government, my neighbors, my local social service organizations, etc.

Basically this woman is raking in millions for mailing out seeds & a list of websites.

The websites people can find on their own if they're interested in gardening & have access to the web. If they don't, there are books you can read for free in the public library. Or you can connect with local gardeners/gardening groups/extension office etc.

What a scam.

Strictly for the yuppies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojOcQquO_SU

[Viva_La_Revolution]

10. how sad for you

that's really what you got from this?

[SpiralHawk]

11. Did somebody pee in your carrot juice?

Dude, you got a wicked bad case of RepubliTude. All negativity & FAIL & stuff.