THE BRIDGEWATER-SOMERVILLE CONNECTION PAGE 40 theconnectionsnj.com APRIL/MAY 2023 A local hunger relief non-profit is tackling the issues of food and nutrition insecurity through a full-circle approach of fresh produce distribution, education, and volunteerism. America’s Grow-a-Row began in 2002 through the efforts of one person, Chip Paillex, who was looking for a project to do with his young daughter. Chip and his daughter decided on gardening and started growing vegetables. Their garden thrived and they had more produce than they could use. Then Chip saw an ad that read, “Have extra produce? Bring it to the food pantry and grow a row for the hungry.” That year Chip and his daughter donated 120 pounds of fresh produce to the Flemington Area Food Pantry. When Chip saw the need for fresh fruits and vegetables at local food pantries, he became inspired to grow produce to feed the hungry. Each year Chip planted more and more produce and gathered more and more volunteers to help him sustain his project, and eventually he turned America’s Grow-a-Row into a 501(c)(3) non-profit. Over the years, the program has grown exponentially, and the organization now owns and operates on four farms in Hunterdon County, totaling more than 420 acres, and gleans excess produce from numerous farms and grocery stores across Central New Jersey. With the help of thousands of volunteers, America’s Grow-a-Row donates 2.5 million pounds – or 10 million servings – of fresh, nutritious, fruits and vegetables annually to people experiencing food insecurity. In addition to providing fresh produce to hunger relief partners across New Jersey like the Food Bank Network of Somerset County, the organization serves Philadelphia and New York City as well a number of states along the eastern seaboard. Over the past two years, America’s Grow-a-Row has responded to urgent requests for fresh produce as far away as Texas and Kentucky, and the organization’s produce currently reaches 17 states. An important part of America’s Grow-a-Row’s mission is education. Staff members teach lessons and workshops on topics like healthy eating and nutrition, hunger and poverty, and culinary skills to people of all ages, and America’s Grow-a-Row partners with schools, community groups, and healthcare organizations to present both in-person and virtual lessons. Students learn how fruits and vegetables grow, about the importance of eating nourishing food, including workshops for people struggling with diet-related diseases, and how to prepare a healthy meal with fresh produce. The organization also brings children from under-resourced communities to their farm in Pittstown during the summer months for Grow-a-Row Kids Farm Days, where the children learn about healthy eating, farming, and the environment, pick fruits and vegetables to take home, and make a healthy snack in the onsite kitchen. For many of the children, it is their first visit to a farm. America’s Grow-a-Row expects to serve more than 100,000 people this year alone through their produce donation, volunteer, and education programs. America’s Grow-a-Row welcomes volunteers of all ages, and no experience or special skills are necessary. If you are interested in volunteering or making a nancial donation to America’s Grow-a-Row, please contact Chip at 908-331-2962 or chip@americasgrowarow.org. To learn more about America’s Growa-Row, visit americasgrowarow.org. By Susan Kalfaian America’s Grow-a-Row Works to Alleviate Food Insecurity With the help of thousands of volunteers, America’s Grow-a-Row donates 2.5 million pounds – or 10 million servings – of fresh, nutritious, fruits and vegetables annually to people experiencing food insecurity. COMMUNITY NEWS... Mywife, Abby, visitedVenezuela frequently, beginning at age sixteen, after her aunt and uncle moved there to operate an import/export business. Through the business, they got to know Raul Leoni, the President of Venezuela from March 1964 through March 1969. Leoni tried valiantly to establish a democratic society with a strong middle class. He modernized the country and successfully resisted a Cuban-backed insurgency. In 1972, Leoni was admitted to the Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan for critical, medical treatment. Several family members, including his son, also named Raul, accompanied him. Abby’s paternal grandfather was in the same hospital, also in dire condition. Abby’s aunt recognized the Leoni family. She suggested that Leoni’s son meet Abby rather than just sit around the hospital for days on end. Raul and Abby became fast friends. Abby’s grandfather and Raul’s father passed away about the same time. She continued to travel to Caracas and did so more frequently from Miami, where she was going to college. Her friendship deepened with Raul. With the deteriorating situation in Venezuela over the last three decades, Raul and his family moved to Florida. This past January, Abby and I had the opportunity to have dinner in Jacksonville with Raul, his wife, their daughter, and her husband. Over dinner, Abby told the following story. In early 1973, Abby was preparing to travel from Caracas to Miami. She was nervous as there had been some recent aviation accidents, including a fatal jet crash in the Everglades. She expressed her concerns to Raul. He said he would consult the family’s bruja (pronounced brooha, Spanish for witch or what we might call a psychic). Raul said she spoke with the saints. Abby reminded him she was Jewish, but Raul assured her that his bruja could see the future. When Abby expressed her doubts, Raul told her the bruja was blind but somehow described ornaments that were placed in Raul’s father’s casket which only the family knew about. Raul reported back from the bruja: (1) Abby will travel with an older woman, (2) a young woman, with long black hair would sit next to them, (3) after landing safely and walking down a long hallway they would come upon broken stairs, (4) she saw Abby at the bottom with a broken leg, and (5) Abby would be met by someone who loved her. But the bruja said if Abby was careful, she wouldn’t be injured. Abby was skeptical because they would be taking a cab from the airport. Abby and the older woman, her mother, boarded the plane and were seated in a row of three. A young woman with long black hair took the vacant seat. They landed in Miami. After a long walk on the concourse, they approached a mass of people at the top of a broken escalator intended to take them to baggage claim. Abby’s mother took all of the luggage and insisted Abby take one step at a time holding onto the rubber railing with both hands. No injuries. In baggage claim, her friend, Michael, was waiting for them. He told them he knew Abby was coming back on that day. He checked, and there was only one ight from Caracas. He didn’t have any other plans, so he gured he would pick her up. Is all this a random connection or paranormal power at work? Bewitching By Dan Rosenberg “RANDOM“ CONNECTIONS
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