Testimonials and Stories from Our Gardeners!

Girls with their home garden

Our mobile pantry was this past Tuesday. There was a very long line of people waiting in the snow/rain for food when we arrived. They had been there for hours. My first assignment of the day was to mingle with folks, talk with them about their situations, and pass out the seed packets you all sent.

Soon after arriving, people were let into a nice, warm gymnasium to wait while we unloaded the truck. I was prepared to hear a lot of 'no's' when I asked if folks had gardens, so I was surprised how quickly the seeds were gobbled up.

One thing I heard repeatedly was that a fair number of people lived in subsidized apartments and were not allowed to have so much as a lawn chair outside. Gotta work on that! When I asked them if they would be interested in gardening if there was a communal space, almost all of them said yes. There were also quite a few people with physical disabilities who would need help gardening but were interested.

I just wanted to thank you for the seeds. It afforded me the most glorious of experiences, and I feel quite sure their benefits will be felt for a long time to come. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We just wanted to say our deepest thanks to you. You have played a big role in helping us teach others to grow their own healthy food. Your contributions to our food pantry garden have also had a great impact. We thank you so much! God Bless!

Welcome to our gardening efforts. It creates a beautiful, tranquil space, where there was none before. And now we can share health with our new friends. Again, thank you!

Thanks for all you have done for us. Your gift of seeds will have a far reaching effect. We are anxious to open our Food Pantry, so we can give the people fresh produce from our garden.

Just got the lovely news that my food stamps are going to be cut from $150 to $83. Right now I'm glad I planted all I did. Am setting up the bedroom greenhouse. Trying not to get too depressed - gotta remind myself of how thankful I am for my Dinner Garden.

I acquired some seeds from my sister that came from Dinner Garden. I am not sure how she got them, but I wanted you to know just how much we appreciate them! My husband and I are first time gardeners with a 15x25 plot in a community garden in our area. As both of us are un-employed at the moment, the garden has not only given us produce, but also a diversion from "reality." Our garden is a quiet, peaceful place that we really enjoy. Thank you for making this possible - your seeds were a great help to us this summer. I hope that you know how much you are appreciated.

Hi Holly! Attached garden page which my son's Kindergarten teacher created with the seeds that I gave her for the school. She created one for all of the children. Today is the last day of school. I thought you would appreciate seeing it.
Our garden is flourishing, we have peas climbing up strings in an enclosed framed garden, with radishes, beets, jalapenos, tomatoes, and cauliflower and maybe some other delicacies that my son stuck into the dirt while we weren't looking. I will send you a picture soon.
I hope you have a great summer. Thanks again and to Sue for your generosity and effort.

I have been unemployed in Lancaster, Pa. for just over a year now and am currently enrolled in a retraining program to adjust me to the adverse job market but, with loosing half my salary, it is very hard to stretch a dollar and would very much appreciate some seeds so I may grow a garden to supplement our food costs.

I would like to start a veg garden for my family. My husband has been out of work for almost a year now and food is scarce. We love our veg but can't afford to buy it all the time. If you have seeds, I would be more than grateful for them. Thanks.

Thank you so much again. I just knew the Lord wasn't going to make me go through the growing season without my beloved gardens. By the way, I garden from a wheelchair.

I'm interested in receiving some free vegetable seeds. With the current economic conditions, I feel the need to start my own vegetable garden.

My son has a church in north central Michigan. Unemployment is very high here. So many needy people. We would like to start gardens to ease the need and feed the people.

I recently picked up some of your seeds from someone in my area. My roommate and I are starting a garden to feed our household, friends and neighbors. We are hoping to also have a booth at our local farmers market, where we will sell our veggies as well as baked goods, art, jewelry, etc.. I am also trying to help a local community garden get started as well as assisting a teacher with her class seed project.

I volunteer @ our church food pantry and have recently begun to can my own veggies (with my daughter & granddaughter) This year we are planning a larger garden and I will be planting @ my home also. I would like to help other folks w/ some fresh veggies when the crops come in. Money is always tight and any help you could give would be much appreciated. Looking forward to hearing from you...and Spring in Michigan. :-)

I just wanted to say thanks again for the seed packets. What a wonderful variety! I am quite close with many of my neighbors, and we are meeting later this week to plan a community garden using the seeds. Thanks so much!

We did start a garden last year to help out with food costs. Due to health I was not able to work this past year, I taught school. We live in Michigan and things are getting harder here. Additional health care costs have added to the burden to our household expenses. I would like to add to my garden because so many at church have lost their jobs. Perhaps I could use the surplus to bless those who are also struggling. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated.

Hi....I am interested in your seeds I have 45 planters for a garden this summer ...They were given to me because my yard is not the best for planting so I am planning a container garden this summer...I know this is asking a lot but I cannot leave my house my dad takes off to get on the city bus to go places .My father has Alzheimer ...Would there be anyway you could send me 10 or 15 bags of the seeds....I await your answer

This is so great! I also am part of a therapeutic fostering agency and I can't think of a more fun and educational activity for these kids. Especaily some of the older ones that are going to age out of care sooner or later. With the economy the way it is, this could be a valuable project for them to get involved with.

I was so inspired about The Dinner Garden we went out and planted some of our own veggie's!

My sister told me to let her know when the seeds and bags are here and she will come over to help me package them. We talked about getting a group of women together that evening... to socialize... laugh... and pack your seeds. I think that's an awesome idea. See... you are going to be helping MANY people get together to do good things. Even packing seeds. lol And who takes the time to socialize anymore. : 0 Usually NOT me. So this would be way cool. Maybe I'll have beer and wine available... and food. I like that idea. We just brought an elderly man into our house and taught him how to make newspaper pots. : ) We even gave him a tomato paste can so that he can make his own.