Letter: Volunteers needed to package sustainable seeds

HANCOCK -- For the past three years, Organic Heirloom Plants of Hancock, owned and operated by Wendy Wiegert, has been one of the main donors of Organic Heirloom Seed crops, supplying Organic Heirloom seed for a National Non-profit effort of the "Need For Seed" program initiated by a Gardening Organically yahoo group. This group has provided sustainable seed for those families in "Need For Seed" that could not otherwise afford them. The purpose of the project is to help these families become sustainable on their own.

Organic Heirloom Plants nursery in Hancock, MI. (Photo courtesy Wendy Wiegert)

Organic Heirloom Plants has provided thousands of seed packets that they have raised, collected, cleaned, packaged and shipped to hundreds of families -- both locally and throughout the United States. This year, the growing deer population took all of their seed crops, particularly the vegetable seed. Despite the loss, the group decided to do a Wholesale Bulk Buy of seed by pre-selling over 16,000 packets of seed at wholesale price to customers across the U.S. in order to purchase the bulk seed that will continue to provide thousands of seed packets to those families in "Need For Seed."

The group has met its goal and is now looking for local volunteers to package this seed, which must be shipped out by Dec. 20, 2011, to all who have participated as well as to all the families who are in "Need for Seed."

Volunteer seed packers can help by cutting out the seed card instructions for each variety of seed and/or packaging them at their own home and leisure. In exchange, all volunteers will receive plenty of seed to enable them to plant their own gardens.

All "Need For Seed" families are anonymously nominated, while other families put in their request to the group moderator or Wendy Wiegert of Organic Heirloom Plants. Wiegert has volunteered to head this huge effort by utilizing her wholesale Nursery license to purchase the bulk seed at wholesale, designing and printing all seed direction cards, maintaining seed orders, distributing to "Need For Seed" families and obtaining all supplies and materials necessary to put it all together.

If you'd like to be involved in this worthwhile effort and help enable hundreds of families locally and nationwide to sustain and feed themselves with the help of Organic Heirloom seed, please contact Wendy Wiegert as soon as possible at: windowla@yahoo.com.

Please forward a contact number and best time to call for details on how you can help!

Thank you!

Wendy Wiegert
Organic Heirloom Plants
Hancock, MI