Quality seeds help families put food on the table
From all over Ukraine, churches are calling CAM, asking for garden seeds to pass on to their members. “We have requests from 2,000 churches,” reports Dave Ropp, our distribution director in Ukraine.
Dave will sift through the requests, choosing churches in poor, rural areas where people depend on their gardens for food. “I’ll add churches to the list until . . . we have no more money to give seeds,” he says.
Last year thousands of seed parcels went to Ukrainian families affected by the conflict with Russia. One group of refugees was living at a church house and had no income. They relied heavily on CAM seeds to survive. This year, another 15,000 seed parcels will go to people in Ukraine who still haven’t been able to return to their homes in the eastern part of the country.
With CAM seeds germinating at 85 to 95 percent, the Seed Project is in high demand. “People get free seeds, plus their gardens are really growing,” Dave says. That means a lot to people who depend on their gardens to put food on the table.
Every year, with funds from supporters, CAM purchases a variety of garden seeds by the ton. Volunteers in Ukraine and Romania then package these seeds into seed parcels. Most of the seeds are from Holland and far surpass the quality of seeds needy families can afford to buy.
A family seed parcel usually produces enough vegetables for families to preserve for the winter and to share with their neighbors. One CAM distribution worker said, “I think these seeds reach out and bless more people than we even think, and God is glorified through the seed project.”
CAM staff and contacts in Ukraine are gearing up to distribute 90,000 family seed parcels, along with Christian literature. In Romania, we give out small bags of garden seeds and literature to families in need. Through the Seed Project, CAM also distributes seeds and agricultural tools to farmers in Liberia and Nicaragua to help them provide for their families.
“For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.” Isaiah 61:11
What’s in a family seed parcel?
12 varieties of seeds, including: Late and early cabbage, carrots, fresh eating and canning tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, parsley, peppers, radishes, red beets, and squash.
$25 provides enough seeds to produce one semi-load of vegetables!
If you would like to help support this project, your gift will be a blessing.