Program aims to curb hunger

June 11, 2008

Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery of Paso Robles has partnered with Kathy Kelly of the Winery Music Awards and the nonprofit organization Urban Farming to combat the growing issue of hunger in San Luis Obispo County by growing a little something of their own — produce.

The effort is part of Urban Farm’s new initiative, Vineyards Growing Veggies. Urban Farming, headquartered in Detroit, Mich., is an international nonprofit organization that plants food on unused land and space to feed the hungry. According to its Web site, www.urbanfarming.org, the organization plants produce gardens on rooftops, on walls, in planters in malls, and sidewalks cafes and has Green Science Gardens on school campuses in an effort to combat hunger on a large scale.

The organization, founded by Taja Sevelle in 2005, is based around a revised model of the “victory gardens” that sprung up all over the country during the time of the World War II, said program development consultant Joyce Lapinsky.