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caption, page 3:
Look for this Woodstock Lions Club Plant a Row for the Hungry logo on the donation totes at four Woodstock churches.
Lions Club
will link
gardeners
with those
in need
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
WOODSTOCK — Sometimes the simple ideas are best. Here’s one: Gardeners plant an extra row of food and that food goes to those in need.
The matchmaker here is the Woodstock Lions Club.
Marc Moseley — club president, chairman of the club’s new Plant a Row for the Hungry program, AND gardener — said he had read about the program and gave it some thought. Since this is the first year the club is promoting the program he said, “We want to keep it simple.”
Gardeners are urged to plant an extra row of food and then they drop off the extra fruits and vegetables, starting June 6, in totes set up outside four local churches: First Congregational Church of Woodstock, East Woodstock Congregational Church, the South Woodstock Baptist Church and the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Drop-offs are welcome on Wednesdays and Sundays, he said. If possible, please include packaging (turn plastic bags inside out). Woodstock Lions Club members will pick up the totes around 7 p.m.
Food gathered on Wednesdays will go to TEEG and food collected on Sundays will go to the Community Kitchens of Northeastern Connecticut at the First Congregational Church of Woodstock. The Community Kitchen may incorporate the food into the meals they offer those in need and/or make them available for people to take home.
Moseley said he had read about the Plant a Row program and happened to visit the Community Kitchens where he saw 150 people being helped.
Matchmaker. He said this “energized him to carry this forward.”
“The pandemic definitely factored into our thinking. And there was a significant upswing in those in need of food,” he said.
The club had been looking for a way to do more outreach. “Lots of people in Woodstock had not heard of us (the Lions Club) or what we do.” Outreach and need — a natural combination.
“We partnered with four sites. They all happened to be churches,” he said.
Gardeners and those in need don’t have to be from Woodstock. The club urges gardeners to plant an extra row of relatively durable food that will keep. And as the garden changes through the summer season, the offerings to those in need will change. “We’re not picky. Good food, not pretty is fine.”
Moseley urges participants to post photos on their FB pages and email them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Also on Instagram: #plantarowwoodstock. For more information, keep an eye on woodstocklions.org.
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