To the Editors:

This spring, Oberlin Community Services is sponsoring a project called Plant-A-Row. We are encouraging organizations and individuals to plant an extra row of produce in their gardens to donate to Oberlin Community Services’ food bank. Hunger is a pressing issue in Lorain County and hundreds of families rely on the pantry to meet their needs.

Plant-A-Row is meant to be a sustainable answer to local food insecurity. Ohio has a higher rate of food insecurity than much of the rest of the United States as of 2014, and rather than rely on outside sources and corporations for food, the Oberlin community can respond from within.

By planting an extra row, we can alleviate food shortage and make our community stronger. If you have a garden already, we urge you to plant an extra row of produce to donate to OCS’s food pantry; we can give you some seeds, and we will arrange to pick up your produce when it’s ready to be harvested.

For those who don’t have a garden but are interested in getting one started, we are distributing gardening materials. We have seeds, cloth planters, information and volunteers ready to get digging.

We will be hosting a kick-off event at the Oberlin Big Parade on April 29 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Stop by our tent to say hi, sign up and get inspired.

To participate or find out more visit facebook.com/PlantARowOberlin, call (206) 6612173 or email [email protected].

Oberlin Community Services welcomes you to participate in the 2017 Plant-A-Row program!

– Claudia Baker
College sophomore