Post Crashers is a vital response to the pervasive issue of food insecurity in our community, specifically in Atlantic County, which ranks as one of New Jersey's poorest and least healthy counties. Over the past 10 years, our efforts have yielded remarkable results: we've prepared 19,000 lunches for the homeless, served 4,500 full-course meals to homeless veterans, and grown more than 12,000 pounds of produce for those facing food insecurity.
Post Crashers engage in various activities throughout the year, but this particular project is dedicated to preparing our spring and summer garden. At the community garden in the American Legion Post 295, Northfield, NJ, our plan includes readying the soil in the 26 raised garden beds for planting, cultivating starter plants in our greenhouse, and sowing seeds along with transplanting these starters for the 2024 growing season. The produce harvested will be donated to formerly homeless veterans residing in transitional housing in Atlantic City, supplied to the Salvation Army for their meal services to homeless individuals in the same city, and contributed to the food pantry at the Hope Center in Toms River, NJ. Our ambitious target is to cultivate a yield of 2,000 pounds of fresh produce at the Northfield garden. In addition, we plan on expanding our coastal garden to include a site at the Salvation Army in Atlantic City, NJ. Here we will grow at least 1000lbs of produce for those food insecure. A key component of our approach involves an after-school and summer program catering to children aged 7-12 from Latino, African American, and Bangladeshi communities. We are excited to introduce an urban garden project for them coupled with a farm-to-table educational program, designed to engage students actively in agriculture and nutrition.
