When the High Tunnel Initiative was first announced by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in February, staff members of the Elsberry, Mo., Plant Materials Center agreed that the best way to get people interested in the project was to create their own on-site model. “We wanted to show people intrigued by the idea of a high tunnel that it really was a beneficial product,” Acting Plant Materials Center Manager Ron Cordsiemon said. “To demonstrate the potential of a high tunnel, we built our own 24-foot-by-56-foot model in Elsberry. We planted tomatoes and green peppers both inside the high tunnel and out to show the difference a high tunnel could make in crop production.”
When it came time to harvest the produce, both inside the high tunnel and out, the staff realized that they had more than they knew what to do with. “We hadn’t really thought through as to what we were going to do when all of the produce became ready to harvest,” Cordsiemon laughed. “Thankfully, the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families food drive started about the same time that our produce was ready to be picked. It seemed like a perfect fit for all of the vegetables we had.”
To date, the Elsberry Plant Materials Center has donated 344.5 pounds of food to the Food Pantry of Troy, Mo., the Lincoln County Cupboard and the Elsberry Nutrition Center. In addition to peppers and tomatoes, the staff has also provided sweet corn. “We had some fallow areas and thought the best thing to do with those areas was to grow sweet corn,” Cordsiemon said. “Several of us pitched in and bought a five pound bag of seeds, and in our time off, planted the seeds.” The high tunnel has proven itself successful helping dole out over 300 pounds of tomatoes and peppers. “Right now the high tunnel is producing only slightly more tomatoes than what we were able to grow outside,” Cordsiemon said. “We expect that number to increase as the season changes. The high tunnel should continue to produce while the plants outside will probably die off in the cooler weather. “As far as the green peppers go,” Cordsiemon said, “we’ve seen almost two times as many growing in the high tunnel as we have outside. The difference is amazing.” Cordsiemon and his staff plan on continuing to donate excess produce to their local food pantries as the season wears on.
The Elsberry Nutrition Center, a satellite office for the Lincoln County Council on Aging, has welcomed the donations, slicing tomatoes and handing them out daily to those in need. “The fresh tomatoes that the plant materials center brought in have been a tremendous help to our program,” satellite manager Cathy Cooper said. “We deliver food through Meals on Wheels and offer congregational dinners as well. The donation of fresh produce provides several of our local low income senior citizens with healthy foods.”
To make a donation to the Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families food drive, please contact your local NRCS field office. Staffs are collecting fresh produce as well as non-perishable items to donate to local food banks. The Feds, Farmers and Friends Feed Families food drive will run through Tuesday, August 31.
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