(PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.) – With a new growing season underway at Plant A Row for the Hungry, Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D – Glen Cove) is joining the not-for-profit organization in welcoming Alper’s Hardware – a more than 110-year staple of the Port Washington community – as the new drop-off site for this season’s philanthropic green-thumbs.
“We're proud to expand our partnership with Plant A Row,” Adam Novick, owner of Alper’s Hardware, said. “Local self-reliance, whether it's addressing food insecurity or maintaining a vibrant Main Street, is a hallmark of a strong community. We care deeply about doing our part in keeping Port Washington a place that can solve its own problems and meet its own needs while strengthening our partnership with like-minded organizations as Plant A Row.”
For many years, Plant A Row had worked closely with the Bayles Garden Center as a gathering site for the fresh produce that supporters grew for local food pantries. However, with Bayles exiting the retail business, Plant A Row founder and President Marvin Makofsky was forced to make a change for 2025 – and Alper’s, which first opened its doors in 1911, quickly obliged.
“The community loves Alper’s,” Makofsky said. “Local retailers need all the support they can get, especially in the hardware business, and Alper’s is an institution that has been supporting the community for more than 110 years. We hope that it will be good for their business and that our supporters will browse and shop as they drop off their harvests.”
Founded in 2010, Plant a Row’s mission is to “mobilize the Port Washington community to grow and distribute locally grown produce to our food-insecure families and impact climate change as it relates to growing food.” Throughout its first 14 years, the organization has delivered more than 325,000 servings of fresh produce to food pantries in support of hundreds of needy Port Washington residents and Plant A Row’s Outreach program has worked with various local organizations to teach children and families how to grow their own vegetables and share with those in need.
Late last year, Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton secured $50,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funding in support of Plant A Row’s hunger-fighting mission.
“Since 1911, Alper’s Hardware has been giving back to the people of Port Washington – and this is the latest example of how local businesses are such important partners in efforts to enrich the communities they so proudly serve,” Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton said. “I am so thrilled that they are joining forces with Plant A Row for the Hungry, and I look forward to another wonderful growing season for Marvin and his outstanding team.”
Visit https://plantarowforthehungry.org/ for information about Plant A Row and signing up for the 2025 growing season.
PHOTO CREDIT – Photo by Peter M. Budraitis