By Matthew Burgoyne
Staff Writer

    As the “Plant A Row For The Hungry” of Morgan County enters its second year, it has bigger hopes and even more help for the upcoming year. The Lake Country Garden Masters Club will oversee all aspects of the garden with the intent to educate volunteers and the citizens of Morgan County about planting.  The garden is adjacent to Morgan County High School, which is great for students who are volunteering on the project.
    The 165-square-foot garden space was generously donated by Catherine Lindsey, the late Dr. Paul Lindsey and the rest of the Lindsey family. This year, the garden will be receiving much more help from the community. Numerous organizations and groups at the high school will be involved. The Horticulture Department, the Agriculture Department, and the FFA, all under the supervision of Tim Savelle, will be planting and tending the garden until the end of the school year. The Boys and Girls Club, under the supervision of Tery Hicks, will come every Tuesday during the summer to pick and maintain the area.
    Every other Thursday, the Boy Scouts with the help of parents and leader Craig Henry will work in the garden. 
    Three homes school groups, Centennial Baptist, Shiloh Baptist, and 4-H Extension Agency home school group, will work on the opposite Thursdays. This way, the garden will be picked twice a week. The garden will also be receiving international help. Teko Basandize, an exchange student from Georgia, once a part of the USSR, will help with the FFA program at the high school. She hopes to bring what she learns about planting back to her home country. Laura Rolader, Janet Woodard, and Bobby Smith of the Morgan County Extension Agency will also include “Plant A Row” as part of their 4-H Leadership Camp this summer.  Last year, the “Plant A Row” program served 785 families. “Plant A Row” is the only organization in the area that hands out fresh produce free of charge.  Starting on June 9, fresh produce grown in the “Plant A Row” garden will be handed out every Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Caring Place to the financially disadvantaged, medically disabled, and the elderly.  “’Plant A Row’ is a project of giving. The experience gained by young people in this year’s project will set an example for the rest of their lives, raising the Morgan County Plant A Row Project to a new level,” said Jewel Hatcher, organizer of the project.