- December 22, 2025
-
-
Loading
Loading
It's no surprise that Longboat Key's Hope Seeds chapter is nearing 500,000 seed packets prepared by volunteers since 2016. In just one afternoon, the few dozen volunteers packed about 5,000 cilantro seed packs and 1,400 onion packs.
Organizer Ann Quackenbush, coordinator of the local chapter of the international organization that packs and ships seeds for families in need to grow crops across the globe, is an expert at getting the most out of her volunteers. She coordinates the monthly packing effort, and she has the system down to a science.
Each person sits down to their setup with a bowl of loose seeds, a one-teaspoon or half-teaspoon measuring spoon depending on the type of seeds being packed, a large plastic bag filled with 100 smaller, pre-labeled plastic bags and an empty basket.
Each packer scoops up a spoonful — a level spoonful, per Quackenbush's explicit instructions — and pours the seeds into the small pouches, zippers them shut and tosses the bag in the basket. They then repeat this several hundred times.
"Last time, you did 6,100 tomato seed packets, which was very good," Quackenbush said when welcoming the day's volunteers. "It will help feed a lot of people."
The group of volunteers, including Cindy Ritchell, Brenda Korthauer, Beverly Sutton and Kit Torchia, affectionately joked that Quackenbush would be quick to refurbish their supplies if they packed too quickly. But the foursome was anything but slow as volunteers finished their first baskets of 100, then another round.
As volunteers at the tables worked away, Quackenbush and her twin sister, Sue Wertman (see bellringer, page 18), circulated around, refilling the bowls of seeds as needed.
But the group's philosophy is far from one of "all work and no play." Attendees take advantage of the monthly meetings to catch one another up with updates about grandchildren and recent travels. On that particular afternoon, they also enjoyed slices of coconut cake and caramel cake waiting in the kitchen, serving as motivation.
The group meets from 1-3:15 p.m., and even as the end time approached, volunteers didn't let up. If they didn't have time to pack another 100 bags alone, they would team up to each pack 50 or lend a hand to whoever was still finishing.
The international group formed in 1999 as a ministry of Hope Lutheran Church in Bradenton, Quackenbush explained. Christ Church of Longboat Key joined the effort in 2016 and will officially celebrate 10 years of contribution next February.
The group has, so far, packed 473,800 seed packets, and she hopes the group will reach 500,000 by March.
Quackenbush plays an integral role in coordinating the community effort, but she is quick to note the contributions of others.
"Hope Seeds has a very generous donor who is matching gifts up to $25,000 from now through Christmas," she said.
Where do these packets go? She said the church sends them worldwide, but the Caribbean is a major focus, especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
While the numbers from the Dec. 8 packing event were impressive, Quackenbush said the group will likely go leaps and bounds further when more Longboaters return to the island after the holidays.
Plenty of the volunteers have helped out for years.
Cindy Ritchell said, "When my husband and I retired and moved here for the season, that's when I got involved, around 2019."
"Anybody can do it," she added. "It's not hard. It's also a nice way for the community to come together and get to know each other better."
Volunteers have been determined to keep the effort going over the years. Even amid pandemic-related health restrictions, volunteers took extra precautions but kept working. They are also mindful of ensuring the crops they send out are suitable for the region's growing conditions.
The sisters have seen the benefits of their volunteerism with their own eyes. Early this year, they traveled to Panama with the Church of Nazarene to help distribute seeds while accompanying doctors who saw hundreds of patients each day, Quackenbush said. They have also traveled to India, Africa and Vietnam with Hope Seeds.
Quackenbush isn't regarding the 10th anniversary as a finish line, though. In fact, she is ramping up her efforts in February with plans to help coordinate a large-scale packing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
