“We generally purchase about 40-50 percent of the supplies for the pantry, and the rest comes in donations from the community. We have wonderful people who will purchase $100 of food and donate it, or make a cash contribution, but the $2,500 we received was such an unusual gift that we really appreciate,” said Vyron Hershman, Medaryville Food Pantry chairman.      

According to the national hunger relief organization, Feeding America, an estimated 3 million households in rural America lack the proper resources to put food on the table. Many of these households are located in farm communities that produce the foods that feed American consumers. $2,500 can help feed about 350 people in a rural community.

Local farmer Caroline Miller knows the importance of giving back to the community and chose the Medaryville Food Pantry when she was given the opportunity to direct a $2,500 donation to a nonprofit organization through America’s Farmers Grow Communities. The Medaryville Food Pantry is open one day a month, and will feed anywhere from 25 to 35 families from the Pulaski County area on that day. For a rural community, $2,500 can go a long way in providing organizations such as the Medaryville Food Pantry with the supplies they need to keep their communities fed. 

Visit www.growcommunities.com to learn more about America’s Farmers Grow Communities. The program is part of a broad commitment by the Monsanto Fund to invest in farm communities in order to highlight the important contributions farmers make every day to our society, and sign-ups for this year’s program are going on now. From now through Nov. 30, 2011, farmers can apply online at www.growcommunities.com or call 1.877.267.3332 to apply by phone.

About the Monsanto Fund

The Monsanto Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the farm communities where farmers and Monsanto Company employees live and work. Visit the Monsanto Fund at www.monsantofund.org.