Library cardholders can now check out packets of vegetable, fruit and flower seeds for free.
The Chattanooga Public Library’s Seed Exchange program is located at the library’s downtown branch and allows cardholders to check out up to five seed packets at a time.
The seeds do not have to be returned, but the library is encouraging patrons to learn proper seed-saving techniques so some can be donated back into the collection.
“This is a great opportunity to give people some of the tools they need to grow their own food and start a conversation about ecosystem and nutrition literacy,” says Head Librarian Jaclyn Anderson.
The downtown library has several other resources that go hand-in-hand with the Seed Exchange. One of these is its circulating Tool Library, which allows cardholders ages 18 and up to check out three tools at a time for one-week increments.
The Chattanooga Seed Exchange is an ongoing program that was made possible through donations from several local farms, including Feathers & Fruit, Wheeler’s Orchard and Crabtree Farms. Individuals also donated seeds harvested from their personal gardens.
Seed saving is an opportunity to bring together generations and demographics who share a passion for regenerating their land,” says Jessie Gantt-Temple of Feathers & Fruit. “It’s the small steps that create the largest imprint.”
For more information, call the downtown library at 423 643-7740.
Source: Chattanooga Public Library