MARYSVILLE – Alana Meyer’s goal this summer is to grow and then donate 2,000 pounds of fresh organic produce to the food bank in Everett.
That’s about 200 grocery bags full of onions, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, celery, beets, beans, radishes, cabbage, leeks and corn.
She raises all that and more, but Meyer says her donation won’t be enough to feed all the hungry families in Snohomish County. So she’s trying to encourage other vegetable and fruit gardeners to donate their extra produce.
“Don’t let your extra veggies go to waste,” Meyer said. “One person truly can make a difference. You may not leave a legacy, but you will help the people of your community.”
And now is a good time, she said.
“People these days shouldn’t be forced to choose between buying gas and buying fresh vegetables.”
An employee of Sunnyside Nursery near Marysville, Meyer is in her third season growing produce to donate to the food bank. Her bosses, nursery owners Steve and Pauline Smith, donate the seeds, starts, water and the garden space in a corner of the nursery for what they call Meyer’s “labor of love.”
Meyer and the Smiths said they were inspired in their endeavor by the Garden Writers Association’s Plant a Row for the Hungry program, which encourages gardeners to grow and donate produce for food banks and soup kitchens. The Smiths and their employees nibble at the garden, too, but most of it goes to the Volunteers of America Everett Food Bank, Meyer said.
Meyer’s vegetables are always out the door the same day she brings them in, said Darrell Miller, an aid at Volunteers of America, who weighs and tallies her produce donations.
“Alana helps out the community on a weekly basis. Her fresh produce is a big help and very appreciated by our clients,” he said.
Meyer, 40, hasn’t always been a prolific gardener. As a child she was upset when her mother made her weed the family garden in Lynnwood.
“I hated it then, but I love it now,” said Meyer, who studied horticulture at Edmonds Community College.
She and her husband, Steve, have mastered flower gardening and landscaping to the point that their northeast Everett residence will be featured on the Everett Gardens of Merit tour in June.
However, successful vegetable gardening eluded Meyer until she took over the nursery’s 2,400 square-foot garden plot.
The first year she struggled. She planted potatoes too deeply and over-watered other vegetables. Nevertheless, her donation to the food bank topped out at 800 pounds. Last year the donation equaled 1,100 pounds. So far this summer, Meyer has harvested 500 pounds and she feels confident she can reach her goal of donating 2,000 pounds of fresh produce.
Every chance she gets, whether during her work day or on her evenings off, Meyer maintains the garden.
“It’s a matter of being tenacious,” she said. However, working to provide food for others is “easier than you think, and it’s very soul-satisfying.”
Even a small bag of carrots, a few extra zucchini squash, apples from an old tree or a bag of potatoes are a help at the food bank, Meyer said.
“Kids enjoy raising potatoes, and you can do it as a family project or even grow them as part of your landscape. You don’t need a raised bed to do it,” she said.
Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.
Alana Meyer wants to encourage gardeners in Snohomish County to donate their extra produce to local food banks. She said she is happy to answer questions about gardening and food donation and is available by e-mail at alana@sunnysidenursery.net.
I love to talk veggies, she said.
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