Plant A Row

Plant A Row is a program that encourages local home gardeners, hobby farmers, and community gardens to take a hand in reducing food insecurity in the community by planting and harvesting extra produce, fruits, and herbs with the intention to donate in mind. This program is a cooperative effort between ICT Food Rescue and the Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardener volunteers. According to Ample Harvest, 11.5 billion pounds of garden produce becomes food waste each year.

ICT Food Rescue coordinates volunteers to complete multiple produce pickups each week from over 10 local nurseries, greenhouses, and garden centers. During the 2024 growing season, ICT Food Rescue staff and volunteers completed 383 produce pickups resulting in the collection and distribution of 4.239 pounds of local nutrient rich produce serving the food insecure population of Wichita. This program requires administrative supervision to facilitate the marketing (including print materials, news spotlights, and funder branding), nonprofit partnerships, volunteer recruitment, oversee technology that coordinates routes and tracks results, and coordination of distribution. The produce pickups take place from June 1st to the first week in September each year.