Botanical Center Growing Huge Food Pantry Garden

 Utah State University's Utah Botanical Center in Kaysville is planting a 12,000 square foot vegetable garden to stock local food banks with hundreds of pounds of fresh produce. Garden director David Anderson says it's like a giant Victory Garden, the backyard gardens that helped feed the nation during the food shortages of World War II.

"We were kind of thinking of ways we could respond to the economic situation that the nation is in. And, you know, it's a small thing for us, but it is something that we could do to give back a little bit," Anderson says.

The nearly quarter-acre garden is being planted with 100 pounds of seed potatoes, 450 tomato starts, 4,000 corn, and 200 melon plants. It will be tended by hundreds of volunteers, including 50 master gardeners and kids from local 4H clubs. The harvest will help boost inventory at area food banks, which are seeing a 30 percent increase in demand during this economic downturn. Utah Food Bank Executive Director Jim Pugh says fresh produce is a valuable commodity.

"It's some of the most nutritious and healthy products that we can get in to our food banks," Pugh says. "Also, often times, some of that fresh produce is some of the most expensive items in the grocery store, so when families are really struggling on a tight budget, they have to make food choices that are often times unhealthy." 

Garden centers are reporting record sales this year as the economic downturn has many planting a vegetable bed to augment their grocery purchases. Both Anderson and Pugh urge all home gardeners to plant a little extra this year to donate to the food bank.