From [1] Andy of Andy’s Greens comes a link to a [2] great article about a farm donating an amazing amount of produce each year for [3] Maine’s Plant a Row for the Hungry Program. 

WELLS — Bill Spiller thrusts his calloused, mud-caked hands into the cold, damp dirt and pulls out the last of his carrot crop.

They are gnarled and knobby orange things, unlike the uniform versions found in most supermarkets. Their feathery green tops spike the chilly November air with the crisp scent of summer.

In a few minutes, Spiller and his farmhand, John Derosier, fill four big buckets with carrots that will be delivered to the food pantry at York County Shelter Programs in Alfred.

Spiller, 67, says he has never experienced the kind of need that drives a man or a woman to walk through the doors of a food pantry and ask for help. “I’ve been privileged,” says Spiller, wearing a dusty jean coat and a blue stocking cap. “Maybe never made much money, but never been hungry.”

This year, Spiller Farm donated 10,000 of the 85,000 pounds of produce grown statewide for the Plant a Row for the Hungry program of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Spiller and his wife, Anna, his partner in running the farm, contributed more produce to Plant a Row than any other grower in the state, a position they’ve held every year since the program started in 2001. Their donation this year was worth about $20,000, but the Spillers say they don’t claim the Plant a Row contributions on their income tax returns.

……

The Spillers credit everyone else for making their generosity possible, especially the volunteers who pick the fruits and vegetables week after week throughout the growing season.

“I really have to give credit to the volunteers because I wouldn’t have time to do it otherwise,” says Bill Spiller, a former town selectman and School Committee member. “They come twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, whether it’s raining or not, and pick whatever surplus we have.”

[4] Read the full article, with photos and audio interviews, here >