RHINELANDER - Just about any food pantry offers pre-packaged items that can last for months or even years. Not much beats fresh produce though, so the Rhinelander Area Food Pantry is helping its clients get those vegetables by growing their own.
The pantry has been giving out plants like tomatoes, peppers, and cabbages for free since last Saturday.
Garden curator Tom Jerow has been growing them in the nearby greenhouse since April. Tomatoes seem to be the most popular and easiest to take care of, but Jerow says plenty of clients are very good gardeners who even teach him a thing or two.
"When I'm driving around town, I'll see my plants somewhere and I'll say, 'Oh, there's one of my plants.' So, that's really satisfying and I can usually tell because I grew them from little babies," Jerow said.
The plants are a way to teach people how to live sustainably and get a little more joy out of their food.
"Seeing one of our clients with that fresh-grown tomato, particularly someone from the older generation, they really appreciate the smell of a fresh garden tomato," Jerow said. "There's nothing that beats it."
Only about one-third of the 1,000 plants remain. The pantry will give them out Saturday and Monday during normal distribution hours (Saturday 10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. / Monday 3 - 6 p.m.)
They're also offered in planters for people who don't have space or access to their own garden. Jerow suggests waiting for the ground to warm up in early June before planting most vegetables.
