Master Gardener Jim Kvach part 1
Food insecurity is defined as a state in which consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year. According to hunger health in 2017, an estimated 1 in 8 Americans were food insecure equating 40 million Americans and more than 12 thousand children. One local citizen is doing what he can to help this issue that affects so many.
Gardening since he was 4 years old, Master Gardener, Jim Kvach produces two tons of food a year to the Food Pantry and Community Table in his local area. He lives in Rockbridge County where 3/4ths of an acre is his garden. Mr. Kvach spoke at the Bath County Library on Tuesday, June 18th giving advice for other gardeners and shared some of his backround.
“I’ve been gardening since 4 years old so I was brought up on a farm. Moving to Rockbridge County is a dream come true in many, many ways. It got me back into being able to do some large scale gardening.”
He shared that about 10% of Rockbridge County is food insecure, meaning at least one time during the course of the year people don’t know where their next meal is coming from. People love the food bank and are grateful for it but have said they missed the fresh produce in the past and that’s where Mr. Kvach steps in- he has the fresh produce to provide for them with his average being 2 tons of food a year and his highest record being 3 and a half tons!
“So going from a pasture, to a garden, to people- so what are you going to do with all the produce? The Community Table, if you’re not familiar with it, they’re in Rockbridge County, anybody can go, and then the Food Pantry. The Food Pantry serves about 33,500 people multiple times a year.”
The Community Table is a non-profit organization that seeks to relieve the hunger of those residing in Buena Vista, Lexington, and Rockbridge County. They work in close association with the local governments and the Blue Ridge area food bank. They depend on groups and individuals willing to volunteer their time and resources.
The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank serves 25 counties and 8 cities and they are the largest organization alleviating hunger in western and central VA, serving communities over 12,000 square miles.
There is going to be a part 2 to this story where Mr. Kvach shares his experience with vegetable gardening and some of his tips and advice for growing vegetables in your garden.
For AMR News, I’m Abby Dufour.
Story By
