WOLFEBORO — During World War II, Americans all over the country planted Victory Gardens to grow food in order to provide more sustenance for everyone. The Wright Museum of World War II is honoring that tradition with its own Victory Garden for the third straight year.
The Wright Museum’s Victory Garden includes lettuce, beets, asparagus, muskmelons, tomatoes and sugar peas. All of the harvest will be donated to the Life Ministries Food Pantry in Wolfeboro.
“It is huge for us,” said Kent Cromwell, president of the food pantry. “Normally, we get things from the food bank in Manchester and donated items, but any time in the summer where we can offer fresh vegetables is great. We really appreciate what the Wright Museum and the Victory Garden do to help the food pantry.”
The vegetables the Wright Museum supplies to the food pantry will support its mission to provide nine meals per week per family member to between 120 and 150 families. In 2017, the food pantry provided nearly 144,000 meals. However, the needs have increased this year, according to Cromwell.
“In May, we distributed 14,000 meals, and overall we have about a 6 percent increase over last year,” he said.
For Michael Culver, executive director of the Wright Museum, the Victory Garden embodies the spirit of the gardens in the World War II era.
“The Victory Gardens were an important symbol during World War II, illustrating how Americans at home could help the war effort by raising their own food,” he said. “Our Victory Garden is a real-life example of those World War II gardens.... Donating food grown in it to the food oantry is a wonderful, interactive exhibition that will bring to life an important part of American history.”
The Victory Garden was planted and is cared for by Christin Kaiser, a University of New Hampshire Extension Service Carroll County Advanced Master Gardener and Australian-certified permaculture designer. She started the garden with raised beds to assist veterans with physical limitations.
For more information on the food pantry, or to donate, visit www.lifeministriesfoodpantry.org or call 603-569-0202.
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