Planting the Seeds to End World Hunger

From: Redbook

How one mom's idea turned into a sustainable movement to feed the hungry.

In 2008, Holly Hirshberg, a 38-year-old mom in Texas, heard some sad news: With the sky-high price of gas, local food pantries weren't able to get or make all their deliveries — and when they had food, many families couldn't afford to drive to pick it up. Holly wanted to help, in a way that would be longer-lasting and more empowering than simply handing over a bag of groceries. "I thought, If we mail seeds to people, it's a cost-effective, sustainable way for them to grow their own food," Holly says. Within months she'd created the Dinner Garden, a nonprofit that sends vegetable seeds and offers gardening tips to interested families nationwide.

Holly knew how gardening could unite a family: Eight years ago, she and her husband adopted their son, Sam, now 18, and daughter, Jacqui, 17, from foster care. "They'd never had enough to eat," Holly says of their childhoods. "I wanted to give them a sense of security and teach them that if you grow your own food, you won't go hungry."

Since January 2009, the Dinner Garden has sent families more than 50,000 packs of seeds, mostly donated by seed companies. Holly is also partnering with an Arkansas program that will place seeds (along with food and school supplies) in backpacks for 25,000 hungry kids. Meanwhile, many grateful gardeners have sent back seeds they've harvested so that Holly can pass them forward. "People are growing their own food and sharing it with neighbors," she says. "They're feeling more hopeful and secure."