The Simpson County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development work jointly to provide new programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.  One such programming opportunity has been the “Drive Thru Container Garden Kits”.  This year, many people have been interested in growing their own produce to provide for their families, enjoy a fun and educational family activity and make the most of additional time they may have on their hands.  This provides an educational opportunity for Extension.   The Simpson County Agents along with office staff recorded a video that demonstrated to clientele how to properly use the components in the garden kits to grow a tomato plant.  The video was posted to the Simpson County Extension Facebook page and YouTube Channel.  

Agents and staff advertised that “Drive Thru Container Garden Kits” would be given away on Tuesday, May 5^th from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. or until the kits were gone.   These kits contained a Roma Tomato transplant, a 5 gallon bucket with pre-drilled drain holes, potting soil, a pair of gloves, snap tomato recipes, “Gardening In Small Spaces” UK publication and a UK tumbler. Tractor Supply Company donated the buckets and potting soil, and Western Kentucky University Agriculture Greenhouse donated all the tomato transplants.  Advertising for this program was done through the Facebook page, on the local radio station and by word of mouth.  

Response for the kits was absolutely overwhelming.  The kits were all loaded and distributed within 20 minutes of the start time!! This was so successful that agents were able to obtain donations for a second “Drive Thru Container Garden Kit” day on Tuesday, May 12^th.  This time 100 kits were given away in 30 minutes!  A combined 155 kits were given away in a total of 50 minutes!!  Many families posted pictures of their planted tomatoes and added great comments about their enjoyment and the learning opportunities this provides them and their family on our Facebook page.  One quote on Facebook is as follows:  “Thank you for coordinating this activity to make it easy for my grandson and many others to do!  Thank you to your sponsors for providing these items!  It was a great turnout, and folks were following your directions.  Simpson County has a great Extension Service.  Thank you to the folks who were loading these into our vehicles!!!”  We have been approached by multiple community members that have expressed their gratitude for this program.