Local Veterans Farm Goes Viral, Helping Start 1,000 Gardens Across America

BELLINGHAM, Wash., Feb. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- It was a typical start to a small campaign their nonprofit does every year. A Seed Share, where people sign up to receive seeds in the mail to start their gardens with the promise they will donate excess produce to local food banks.

On Monday evening Growing Veterans posted a TikTok video announcing the Seed Share, expecting the campaign to attract 100 or so signups like in past years. On Tuesday morning, they woke up to the video going viral.

Within 6 hours they received 1,000 orders, prompting them to close the ordering system. People from every state in the US visited the Growing Veterans website. Many of them ordered an extra seed share to be donated to others who can't afford it.

The team at Growing Veterans was excited and amazed, with heart-warming comments coming in from around the country like, "Gosh what a great thing you're doing!!! Be the change!!!".

And then reality set in. "This is an amazing opportunity to bring 1,000 gardens to people all over the US, but it will be a challenge to fill this large amount of orders we weren't expecting," said Sean Dalgarn, the Executive Director of Growing Veterans. "To fill these orders, we need to sort over 25,000 seeds from bulk bags into smaller packets for each order."

It's a daunting task, but for a 10 year old nonprofit, they are up for the challenge. "The community has always shown up to help us in times of need, and we're confident they will show up to help us now too", said their enthusiastic Outreach Manager, Tonneli Gruetter.

Growing Veterans is organizing volunteers to help sort seeds and pack them into individual orders for 1,000 gardens across America. They're seeking volunteer sign ups now, and expect to start asking volunteers to help fill orders within the next few weeks.

If you live in the north Puget Sound region of Washington, you can sign up now at: growingveterans.org/seed-volunteer

Growing Veterans is a Washington based 501c3 nonprofit since 2012. They combine agriculture and peer support to end the isolation that leads to suicide. If you'd like to donate to this amazing cause, you can do so safely and securely on their website, growingveterans.org.

SOURCE Growing Veterans