The Seed Project
In 1989, the Society of St. Andrew began the Seed Potato Project, a self-help program for some of the poorest regions of our country. The program has since been expanded to include seeds for other produce.
The Society of St. Andrew provides tractor-trailer loads of seed potatoes containing approximately 9 hundred 50-pound bags. Each bag goes to a family of four, which means that each load we provide benefits 3,600 people. The annual seed potato yield is generally over 5 million pounds of eating potatoes for people in need.
Families that receive seed potatoes from the Society of St. Andrew use them to grow potatoes in their home or community gardens. The recipients prepare the fields, plant the seed potatoes, cultivate the crop, and harvest the produce. This food supplements the family diet with nutritious potatoes throughout the winter.
The Society of St. Andrew Seed Project purchases seed potatoes from a distributor in Maine and pays the freight from farm to receiving agency. Some receiving agencies reimburse a portion of the freight costs. These agencies work with their communities to distribute the seed potatoes at no cost to recipients.
It is truly a cooperative effort to feed people in need through this innovative self-help program.
The agencies we work with to distribute seed potatoes include these:
♦ Jackson Area Ministries, Jackson, OH
♦ Cedar Ridge Ministries, Williamsburg, KY
♦ Bland Ministries, Bland, VA
♦ Good Samaritan Food Pantry, Richlands, VA
♦ Concord United Methodist Church, Knoxville, TN
For more information, contact: