Thursday, November 19, 2009

Boy Scouts feed the hungry

I read a great story yesterday about a group of Boy Scouts in Amarillo who partnered with Texas AgriLife Research scientists for a project that helped feed the hungry. Dr. Charlie Rush, an AgriLife plant pathologist, planted three acres of potatoes as part of a study. The potatoes, which had no pesticides on them, grew well. When the project was over, the potatoes "were just laying there," Rush said. Instead of letting them go to waste, Rush and 15-year-old Michael Hoy, a boy at his church who was looking for an Eagle Scout Project, teamed up. Hoy called on fellow Boy Scouts to volunteer to harvest the potatoes. On three different days, the Boy Scouts, plus 30 other volunteers, harvested 5,600 pounds of potatoes and took them to the local food bank.
The project had to meet the Department of Agriculture Research Service guidelines, which it did, and the project got the go-ahead. That's good stewardship in my book.

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