Planting with A Purpose
Planting with a Purpose
Encouraging gardeners to share their harvest by growing fresh produce and donating it to local food pantries.
Fighting Food Insecurity Together
Planting with a Purpose is a collaborative program through the Brown County Community Gardens Program for gardeners to donate fresh garden produce to Brown County food pantries. You do not have to have a plot in the community garden program to participate! Anyone can donate fresh food they have grown at home.
Seed Potatoes for a Shared Harvest
The Planting for a Purpose program also distributes free seed potatoes provided by Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program for those willing to donate half of their harvest to a food pantry.
Why Donate?
Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential to leading a healthy life, but buying produce can be a challenge for some. Two-thirds of Brown County food pantry users say they would like to eat more fruits and vegetables, but name cost as the top reason they do not. To meet this need, local food pantries would like to offer pantry consumers more fresh produce. Donations from your garden help make this possible!
What to Plant
Most pantries accept many types of fresh produce, but especially look for common fruits and vegetables that are easy to store. These include green beans, potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, onions, apples, corn, squash and tomatoes.
Produce Quality Safety Tips
- Donate food that is ready to harvested
- Wash your hands before handling produce
- Brush off as much mud and soil as possible. Choose a spot with uncontaminated soil for your garden.
- Store different types of produce in separate clean, food safe containers. If not donating produce right away, follow recommendations for refrigerating produce.
- Keep animals and pets out of the garden.
- If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t donate it.
Supporting Local Food Pantries
| De Pere Christian Outreach | 1827 Chicago St, De Pere 54115 | M-F | 10am-12pm |
| Manna for Life | 1545 University Ave, GB 54302 | Th | 10am-1pm |
| Paul’s Pantry | 1520 Leo Frigo Way, GB 54302 | M-F | 7am-2pm Sat | 7am-1pm |
| Presbyterian Pantry | 200 S. Ashland Ave, GB 54303 | T-W | 9:30am-2pm |
| Pulaski Community Pantry | 234 West Town Rd, Pulaski 54162 | 1st & 3rd T | 1-4pm |
| Resurrection Food Pantry | 1024 Shawano Ave, GB 54303 | 1st,2nd,3rd Th | 9-11am 4th,5th Th | 5:30-7:30 pm |
| Salvation Army | 626 Union Ct, Green Bay, 54303 | M-F | 8am-4:30pm |
| Hope Center Pantry | 505 Clinton Street, Green Bay, WI 54303 | M-Th | 1-3pm (fresh produce pref M-T 1-3pm) |
| Trinity Lutheran Church | 330 S. Broadway, Green Bay 54303 | M-Th | 7am-3pm |
Feel inspired to dig into gardening
Ready to plant that seed you got? Check out the Brown County Extension growing guides.
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Contact Us
For more information, contact our Urban Agriculture & Community Gardens Coordinator, Rachel Quintas.
rachel.quintas@browncountywi.gov
920-391-4660