When Sharing Seeds Grows More Than Just Food
In Washington, DC, a program seeks to foster abundance through seed-sharing.
By Shea Swenson
Modern Farmer
Aud 06, 2022
Excerpt:
While the main focus for the seeds is food crops, Share a Seed supplies an array of different plant seeds. “I would say people most commonly look for the staple stuff,” she explains. “So, tomatoes and peppers are really popular in this population. Given that we’re in the southeast, we also have a lot of excitement around collards and okra.”
She also always tries to have some herb seeds to share, as they are an accessible place for many people to start and can be grown inside an apartment or outdoors, as well as offering flower seeds.
Before sharing the seeds, Kovalcik works behind the scenes to collect them, requesting surplus seeds from companies or organizing in-person donation opportunities. The seeds end up at the programs booth at farmers’ markets, community gardens or whatever event is on the books for the day—which are usually posted to the Share a Seed social media pages.
Taking and donating the seeds at the booth is as easy as walking up and grabbing or dropping off a sealed seed bag. Think of those little free libraries where neighbors drop off books they no longer need just to share with passers-by who want them. The Share a Seed program mirrors that ideology, with those who have an abundance of seeds they have no use for passing them on to others.
