How you can garden for the good of meal recipients

A gardener holding a handful of green beansDo you have a gift for gardening? If so, there’s an easy way for you to share your bounty with meal recipients once your bumper crop comes in. Because meal recipients don’t always have access to fresh vegetables, a number of our neighborhood sites have decided to offer weekly delivery of fresh produce, bringing a taste of summer to recipients.

This year, the West 7th neighborhood site in St. Paul, Community Emergency Services (CES) in Minneapolis, Southshore Meals on Wheels in Excelsior, Hastings Meals on Wheels and Bloomington/Eden Prairie Meals on Wheels are all offering garden-fresh produce as part of regular meal delivery. Meal programs get the produce from gardens grown on site, local distributors and, in some cases, gardeners like you!

You can donate your produce at the following locations:

  • Bloomington/Eden Prairie Meals on Wheels, 8400 France Avenue South, Bloomington, dropoff hours 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday-Friday, 952-835-1665
  • CES Food Shelf, 1900 11th Ave., Minneapolis, dropoff hours 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 612-870-1125

The best type of produce to donate are fruits and vegetables that can be eaten raw or need minimal preparation, such as salad greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, berries, radishes, etc. Produce should be thoroughly washed and can be delivered bags or bunches.

Here’s to a fruitful growing season! We’re appreciative of anything extra you can share from your garden bounty.