Read the latest article about America’s Grow-a-Row in Family Circle Magazine, April 2001 familycircle4-2011.indd

Special thanks to Amanda Lambert and the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church Youth Group for leading two efforts to raised $804  for America’s Grow-a-Row on Super Bowl Sunday.  This was part of Souper Bowl of Caring, the nationwide effort to alleviate hunger in the United States.  Amanda and her friend, Hannah Cree, gave up an opportunity to visit NYC and spent a cold day in front of the Shop-Rite of Clinton, NJ to raise over $525 for America’s Grow-a-Row.  Special thanks to Shop-Rite, Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, Amanda, Hannah and all those generous folks who donated in support of America’s Grow-a-Row.

Great work, Amanda and Hannah!

Congratulations to Chip for being awarded the “Good Neighbor Award” by the Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce at their Annual Awards Breakfast on November 11th, 2010.  “The Annual Awards Breakfast is a chance to acknowledge the best of the best. The Chamber is honored to put on this event each year,” says Chris Phelan, Chamber President.  This is a well-deserved award and we are thrilled for Chip and grateful to the Chamber for publicly acknowledging his work and the work of the other very worthy recipients, as well.  Congratulations to everyone!

“Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.” - Robert H. Schuller

The above quote is so true, and only the good Lord knew what bounty would be harvested through that one seed, that one idea that was planted way back in 2002.  Fast forward to October 2010 and suddenly “planting a seed” is the perfect way to illustrate the value of all our America’s Grow-a-Row volunteers, the power of countless willing hearts and hands, and the amazing phenomenon of something that started very small, but when nurtured and cared for by many, grew into something much larger than we initially expected.  For that very reason, it’s quite fitting that we use the above quote to announce some very exciting news, as it was a single apple that put us over the 1,000,000 pound mark this past week.  That’s right, since my daughter and I started this program just 8 short years ago, along with the help of thousands of supporters, America’s Grow-a-Row is proud to announce that it’s team of volunteers has donated 1,000,000 pounds (or a stunning 4 million servings) of fresh, healthy produce to feed our neighbors in need.  The hunger problem is complex, but our hunger solution is simple.   Read the rest of this entry »

Great interview of Chip about America’s Grow-a-Row by Jill Horner of Comcast Newsmakers – June 7th, 2010.

comcast video 06-2010

America’s Grow-a-Row is Getting a New Home…

We literally bought a farm in 2010!  After several months of working with some very, very generous benefactors as well as securing the winning bid at a local NJ farm auction, AGAR is now the proud owner of a spectacular 138 acre farm, with 130 acres on the property which can be farmed.  Imagine the possibilities and the amount of produce that can be grown and delivered to those desperately in need all across NJ with this enormous opportunity.  Conveniently located in Alexandria Township, NJ, just about 10 minutes from our official headquarters at Peaceful Valley Orchards, our new property will allow for us to expand our program well into the future.  That’s the good news.

The challenge for us is that the farm did not come with any fence, buildings or infrastructure, so there is a huge need for us to raise funds to make the property more functional. Thanks to generous donations, we have so far installed deer fencing around the entire property, and we will soon begin to drill a well for much-needed water. We planted on approximately four acres of our new farm in 2011 and began harvesting there in July.

We are excited to report this very good news about the long-term possibilities for America’s Grow-a-Row and our neighbors in need who will benefit from this fabulous opportunity. While owning our new farm is exciting, the task of continuing to build it is daunting. If you’d like to contribute to growing our infrastructure, you can visit our donate page or talk to Jackie Etter, jackie@americasgrowarow.org, 908-310-2824. Thank you for joining us in the fight against hunger.

By Hunterdon County Democrat

A FRESH COAT OF PAINT — Owen Boyle, a senior from North Hunterdon and a resident of Bethlehem Township, puts the finishing touches on the Grow-A-Row pickup truck in the Polytech school’s paint bay. He plans on attending Penn Tech this fall. In the background is Sean Ortega, a Delaware Valley Regional High School senior from Kingwood Township.

With some technical autobody work instruction that included sanding, filling, dent repair and rust removal, the Autobody Restoration and Repair Polytech students are finishing the new paint job on a 1994 Extended Cab Chevy pickup that was donated by Mancini’s Landscaping to the America’s Grow-a-Row organization for use this spring.
The non-profit organization, under the lead of Hunterdon County resident Chip Paillex, fights local hunger by harvesting and donating local farm produce to local food pantries. Spencer Goldman, instructor for the Polytech program, was approached by the organization in the hopes that his students could help refurbish the pickup in desperate need of repair.

The students have taken the project as far as they can with the funding provided through Learn and Serve America grant funds awarded to the school last year. The vehicle still requires items that neither America’s Grow-a-Row or Polytech can purchase; specifically a new windshield, two new windshield wipers, four tires (size lt265/75 r 16 m+s), front and rear shock absorbers, two rear brake wheel cylinders and a Hurcliner paint kit for an 8-foot pickup bed. It is the hope of both organizations that community donors can be found to help them complete the project.

According to Goldman, the students were extremely conservative in their purchases for this project. In addition to replacing fenders, panels and doors, the students also built a bumper.  “It would be a shame to have taken it this far without being able to use it as planned,” said Goldman. “The students have worked over six months on it and they really want to see the vehicle ready to go. America’s Grow-a-Row needs this to help the less fortunate in our community.”
For more information about the project and donations, contact Goldman at 908-806-3855, ext. 15.

Read the rest of this entry »

Check out the video of Blue Jean Bash 2010, including the fabulous Produce Runway by designer Brenda Greenfield.  Click here to view this amazing video, compliments of our talented friends at Green Birdie Productions.  Enjoy!