Projects - Five Dollars Feeds A Family
That's right! For $5, The Dinner Garden can send enough seeds to a family to provide produce for seven people for a year! When we looked at family size for this project, we wanted to make sure we accounted for the small families and the big families. If grandparents, uncles, and aunts shared the dinner table, we wanted produce growing in the garden for them. We also had to make sure these families could grow A LOT of food. If they end up with too much, our motto is, preserve what you can't eat now but want to eat in the future. Donate anything left after that to the local food bank!
We're sure you'd like to know what composes our Five Dollars Feeds a Family Seed Pack, so here you go! We customize the seeds to the area of the recipient, so they will be sure to have success, so some of the individual items will vary. For example, okra doesn't grow well in northern climates, so we won't send it to someone in North Dakota. We have included the average equivalent amount of fruit and vegetables produced by these seeds because, even though we deal with it everyday, it still amazes us!
- 7 tomato seeds = 280 pounds of tomatoes
- 7 squash seeds = 140 pounds of squash
- 28 corn seeds = 56 ears of corn
- 28 celery seeds = 28 celery bunches
- 7 pumpkin seeds = at least 21 pumpkins
- 7 cantaloupe seeds = at least 28 cantaloupes
- 70 beet seeds = 70 beets and a 70 bunches of beet greens!
- 70 carrot seeds = 70 carrots
- 70 turnips seeds = 70 turnips and a 70 bunches of turnip greens
- 7 yellow bell pepper seeds = at least 70 yellow bell peppers
- 7 red bell pepper seeds = at least 70 red bell peppers
- 7 orange bell pepper seeds = at least 70 orange bell peppers
- 28 romaine lettuce seeds = 28 heads of romaine lettuce
- 7 green bean seeds = enough to eat, can, freeze, and give away
- 28 broccoli seeds = 28 heads of broccoli
- 7 zucchini seeds = 140 pounds of zucchini, time to make zucchini bread
- 7 cucumber seeds = 140 pounds of cucumbers
- 7 pea seeds = better can them while you're doing the green beans
- 140 radish seeds = 140 radishes
- 28 cabbage seeds = 28 heads of cabbage
- 14 greens seeds = greens every night for the season!
- 7 cowpeas (black eyed peas) = 70 pounds of cowpeas
Some of the seeds we send are planted in the Spring, while others are planted in the Fall. So for most of the year, our families can have fresh produce from the garden. Since they can get so much food from these plants, they will have enough to preserve, so they have vegetables during the winter season.
This home garden will drastically cut our families food expenditures. It will also vastly improve their diets, since they will have access to such a varied and delicious assortment of fruits and vegetables.
We want families gardening. We provide the seeds to get those gardens growing. Our website gives our seed recipients information on gardening inexpensively, food preservation, and links to other gardening resources. Our master gardener is available for questions from our new gardeners. One of our partners, World Food Garden, offers our families additional gardening information like when to plant their seeds in their area. They even offer gardening mentors!
With seeds in hand and armed with valuable gardening information, our families are then in charge of taking care of their gardens, so their plants produce food. That means they are lifting up themselves. They are taking control of their food security. Along the way, they learn the valuable skill of home food production and preservation. We hope our families also bond during this time and build positive memories of the experience!
Are you interested in helping out with this program? Donate today! We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, so your donations are tax deductible!
You can also send donations to the following address. Anything you can send is appreciated!
The Dinner Garden
P.O. Box 700686
San Antonio, Texas 78270-0686