Growing Veggies And Giving Back

In tough economic times, charitable donations go down as the demand for services at charities goes up.  The News On 6's Steve Berg reports that's the case at the Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank, but you may be able to help.

More food is going out and less is coming in, but one Tulsa man is going and growing above and beyond to help.

Homer Walker says the squash and okra are doing well on a small lot on the city's north side.

"I refer to it as a community garden," said Homer Walker.

He bought the land when he retired four years ago with the idea of feeding the hungry.  When serving in the Air Force in the Philippines in the 1960's, he says the image of children looking for food was burned into his brain.  Even here, it's estimated that about one in seven Oklahomans are at risk of going hungry.

"There's just, it's senseless.  There's no need for it," said Homer Walker.  "Hunger in this country and eastern Oklahoma is a major problem, and if I can in a small way alleviate a part of that, then that's why I'm here."

"Homer is just a Godsend to us," said Cindy Stevens with the Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank.

Cindy Stevens at the Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank says Walker comes by a couple of time every week to drop off fresh produce, which is in short supply here.

"Mostly we get a lot of non-perishable food items, so to be able to offer our clients some fresh nutritious produce is really good," said Cindy Stevens with the Eastern Oklahoma Food Bank.

The food bank takes part in the nationwide program called Plant a Row for the Hungry which encourages home gardeners to produce some produce for charity.

"I wish that I could see gardens like this everywhere there's a lot that wasn't being used, but in the absence of that, if you've got a garden at home, you can plant an extra row of corn and make sure the food bank gets it," said Homer Walker.