The North Dakota Department of Agriculture sponsors the Hunger Free North Dakota Garden Program -- which is designed to help provide fresh fruits and vegetables to food pantries across the state.
North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring joined volunteers at a corn plot south of Bismarck, at the Lincoln-Oakes Nursery.
"It's a little over three acres," Goehring said. "We have numerous volunteers showing up to help us pick this corn. And it's going toward a worthy cause."
"You would think that in the land of plenty, and in the state of North Dakota, where we produce over 50 different commodities, we shouldn't have hunger," Goehring said. "But we do."
Goehring said one of 9 people are hungry in this state. He said they seek food banks for assistance. And of those, he said 36 percent are children – and 11 percent are senior citizens.
The sweet corn being harvested is going to the Great Plains Food Bank. That group has partnered with the Agriculture Department for a number of years.
"When we deliver this food directly to the doors of every emergency pantry across the state, people are extremely grateful," Great Plains Food Bank chief development officer Marcia Paulson said. "They're able to put this fresh corn in a food basket, and they're able to give it out immediately."
Along with the Great Plains Food Bank, the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts has been a partner in this program.
"We would also encourage local gardeners and orchard people to put an extra row of produce in for this," said Brian Johnson, the executive director of the North Dakota State Soil Conservation Districts. "It's well worth it."
