What happens when you take a city girl from the north side of Chicago, give her a degree in Anthropology from Brown University, a Master’s in Historical Archaeology from University of California at Berkeley, more coursework from the Design School at the University of Cincinnati, then finally plant her in the fields of the Palouse in the college town of Moscow, Idaho?

If you are Amy Grey, you bloom into creating a nonprofit organization from the seeds of the first lettuce planted in your own backyard with your two young sons, Sam and Tom.

Four years ago, Amy Grey, founder and president of Backyard Harvest, and her sons planted their first garden. After sowing the entire seed packet and growing over 200 heads of lettuce, Amy knew she had to share her bounty, and the idea behind Backyard Harvest was born. Today, Backyard Harvest is growing, harvesting and delivering locally grown fruits and vegetables to area food banks and to several meal programs for seniors and the disabled.

While food bank clients often receive an abundance of canned and packaged foods, Grey noticed that fresh fruits and vegetables were absent from the shelves.

“Backyard Harvest’s growth as an organization is propelled by the simple belief that small things matter,” says Grey. “Pocket-sized gardens, lone fruit trees, a handful of dedicated volunteers when organized can make a significant impact in how community members care for one another.”

“The collection and harvesting of fresh fruit and vegetables in a community brings together people in towns and cities in intrinsic ways that would normally not happen,” Grey continues.

Since its inception three years ago, Backyard Harvest has grown to serve six different communities in three states—Idaho, Washington and California.

In May, 2009, Backyard Harvest received a $24,520 grant from Inland Northwest Community Foundation (INWCF) from the Margaret F. Galbraith Fund to support development of the Palouse Garden Collaborative. This new initiative will take under-utilized land and transform it by Backyard Harvest staff and volunteers into vegetable gardens and orchards to grow food for donation back to area food banks and meal programs in North Idaho and Eastern Washington.

 “By receiving the grant, we are putting down roots,” Grey explains. “We are creating places for folks to experience gardening for the first time.” At the Hope Center food bank, for example, Backyard Harvest has created a small plot to grow fresh vegetables. When families come to the food bank, the kids will wander back to the garden to pick peas, plant sunflowers, and have a chance to see things grow from seed, often something they see for the first time.

Perhaps one day some of those children who are experiencing gardening for the first time will plant their own gardens, and as they are gathering lettuce for their evening’s meal, they will collect a few extra heads to donate to a food bank in their own community.

For more information about Backyard Harvest, please visit their Web site at www.backyardharvest.org.