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CONTACT: Amy Klein or Audrey Leduc at (518) 274-8685 or info@cdcg.org
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Thursday July 31, 2008.
www.cdcg.org

High food & gas prices leave more in need

Squash Hunger Program helps bring produce to those seeking fresh food.

In a year where the price of gas and food are hard to keep up with on a daily basis, families who were living in, or on the edge of poverty, are more in need than ever.  Increasing prices are forcing hard choices for many families, including limited purchase of more expensive fresh foods and many more seeking help from food pantries.  Within these organizations, fresh produce is one of the most difficult items to stock due to limited funding and availability. 

Capital District Community Gardens created the Squash Hunger program in 2004 to alleviate the shortage of high quality accessible produce at soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries and to provide healthier options to those in our communities most in need of healthy food.  Since the program’s inception, CDCG has collected and donated more than 12 tons of fresh produce.

Squash Hunger provides an easy way for gardeners, farmers, and community members to donate home grown or purchased produce using one of our eight convenient drop-off locations in Albany, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties. While pantries and shelters often have limited hours that make it difficult to donate for those that work a 9-5 schedule, our drop-off locations maintain a wider range of business hours so participating is easy.  Program volunteers pick up produce from the collection bins numerous times each week and deliver it directly to shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries in our communities.    

Squash Hunger encourages local gardeners to “grow a row” for others and harvest any extra produce from their gardens.  The program is also a great outlet for farmers with surplus produce to donate to community members in need.  Non-gardeners can participate by picking a little extra during a visit to a berry patch or orchard, or purchasing a little more produce your next time through the produce aisle or at the farmer’s market, every little bit helps.  Two pounds of donated produce can feed an average 3-4 people a serving of veggies.  If you are a member of a CSA and can’t use your entire share or will be away for a week, donate the produce to Squash Hunger.

Produce should be placed in a box or paper bag and delivered to one of the drop off locations as soon as possible after harvest or purchase.  Produce can be dropped off starting now through the end of October at any of the following eight locations:

For more information about the Squash Hunger Program contact Capital District Community Gardens at (518) 274-8685 or visit www.cdcg.org.

Capital District Community Gardens is a regional nonprofit community service organization that has been helping local residents improve their neighborhoods through community gardening and urban greening programs for more than 30 years. CDCG is dedicated to growing stronger communities through horticultural projects in the inner city and currently manages 48 cooperative neighborhood food gardens.  The Veggie Mobile, brings fresh produce, at an affordable price, into low-income, inner-city neighborhoods in our community.

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