NASHUA – Grow Nashua and its mission to sow the seeds of hope and community connectedness has become one of 40 nonprofits around the country to launch a mobile app that directs home and community gardeners to donate a portion of their fresh-grown produce to support local hunger relief efforts. Community supporting community at its best.

Fresh Food Connect’s mobile app coordinates donations from home and community gardeners to local nonprofit organizations working to address food insecurity on a local level. Gardeners download the app, and are prompted to indicate if they have surplus bounty to share. In zip codes across the country, home gardeners can easily arrange for extra produce to be picked up from their doorstep or delivered to a local organization providing free groceries.

“We are thrilled to partner with frontline organizations across the country providing support to community members facing food insecurity. We know that gardeners are some of the most generous people around, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to engage them in the critical hunger relief efforts happening in their local communities,” said Helen Katich, CEO of Fresh Food Connect. “If you are a gardener, just download the app and you will be connected to an inspiring organization.”

Fresh Food Connect currently operates with local nonprofits across 15 states. As gardeners plant their vegetable beds, they can plant an extra row knowing that their bounty can be directed to those who need it most with Fresh Food Connect.

Grow Nashua found that this model would fit perfectly with the Lil’ Free Farmstands that are expanding this year with sponsorship from local Service Credit Union branches into three underserved neighborhoods in Nashua. The stands will provide fresh free vegetables to families three days a week, and pair that in with their other outreach of cooking classes and urban garden plots throughout the city.

“We could fill Holman Stadium twice over with people that are food insecure in Nashua, and fresh fruits and veggies are often the hardest thing to get,” said Justin Munroe, executive director of Grow Nashua. “This app allows us to collect a few veggies from a lot of people and together create and abundance to share and that feels good for everyone involved!”

For additional information, visit www.grownashua.org/share.

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