Photo courtesy of ISU Extension and Outreach

A local research farm is donating produce to area food pantries. At the beginning of the growing season, the Iowa Master Gardeners and the staff at the seven Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms set a goal of producing 1,500 pounds of vegetables per farm for Iowa food pantries, and the demonstration farm in Crawfordsville is setting the pace. The Crawfordsville farm has already produced over 900 pounds of vegetables for the project, one of the largest amounts of produce gathered in the state. The gardeners attribute Crawfordsville’s success to favorable growing conditions in the area. Statewide, the program has harvested over 6,000 pounds of food, though they still have a ways to go to reach their goal of 30,000 servings of vegetables. The Crawfordsville demonstration farm has been harvested throughout the summer and fall by master gardeners, who then deliver the produce.