Sow and Grow

Sow and Grow

Recently, volunteers from the University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners program sorted 330,000 seeds at East Farm in South Kingstown, RI, to prepare them for donation to local libraries, where community members will be able to pick them up for free.

Every spring, the Free Seed Program is held in partnership with the Master Gardeners Program at the University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension and the Master Gardeners Program at the University of Connecticut, and the University of Maine. The Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation has donated over 830,000 viable packets of non-GMO Burpee seeds since 2005 to be made available to individuals, nonprofit organizations, schools, churches, and community gardens in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and surrounding areas.

Over 830,000 seeds to individual and community gardeners in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic

The goal of this program is to increase food security, encourage local food production, and inspire the next generation of gardeners. Through seed packet distribution, seedling and produce donation efforts, and public events and educational workshops, the Free Seed Program has a positive impact on tens of thousands of people throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

Ocean State Job Lot is involved in another exciting Earth-based project. It’s called Heroic Gardens. Learn more about it by clicking here.