There are a couple of photos of cute kids on my phone, and they’re not my grandkids. I snapped their picture last summer at Jeremy and Sarah Wilson’s farm at Jamestown, N.D. The children were there with their families, and we were all picking corn from Jeremy and Sarah’s 1-acre sweet corn patch. The sweet corn was going to the Great Plains Food Bank as part of the Hunger Free North Dakota Garden Project.

Apparently, there were a lot of people all over the state picking sweet corn and lots of other produce for the food bank and other charitable organizations.

According to the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, approximately 468,000 pounds of produce was donated to food banks and other aid organizations across the state in 2016.

“Thanks to more growers, volunteers and community support, donations hit an all-time high,” said Doug Goehring, North Dakota agriculture commissioner.

Since the project began in 2010, more than 1.8 million pounds of fresh produce has been donated to food pantries, soup kitchens and other charitable community programs.

It will be interesting to see how much is donated this summer.

Let’s hope it’s a bumper year for gardens and giving.