mvg1More than one hundred people came to Meadow View Growers on Saturday afternoon to donate non-perishable food items for the garden center’s food drive to benefit a local food pantry.

From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. this past Saturday, anyone who brought in at least five canned good items walked away with a free giant poinsettia plant in exchange for their good deed. Donors got to choose from a selection of large white, pink, burgundy, or red poinsettias, which Meadow View employees said make great houseplants.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, the nursery had received donations from more than 115 people, many of whom brought more than the required five canned goods, bringing their total of items received to well over 600. All of the non-perishables will be donated to Bethel Churches United’s food pantry in attempt to see that those in need are able to put meals on the table this winter season.

Debbie Campbell of Meadow View Growers said the decision to initiate their food drive was “sort of spur of the moment,” noting that they’d been pondering ways of upholding the season’s charitable mission.

“That spirit of giving--we’ve been trying to figure out how to do that,” Campbell said.

The nursery’s poinsettia/food drive exchange was appropriately held on National Poinsettia Day, celebrated in honor of the American ambassador to Mexico who is credited with introducing the plant to U.S. culture. Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett was ambassador to Mexico in the mid-1800s who also worked as a botanist. While in Mexico, he stumbled upon a flower known there as Flores de la Noche Buena (flower of the holy night), and sent cuttings of the plant back to his South Carolina home. Within time, the showy red and green flowers gained popularity in America, and soon became associated with the Christmas season, as many interpreted the shape of their blooms as being similar to the Star of Bethlehem, which is reported to have led the three wise men to Jesus’ place of birth.

Poinsettias are rumored to be highly poisonous to pets and people, however, studies have shown that they are only mildly toxic if consumed. While this doesn’t mean you should leave poinsettias within reach of your pets or children, researchers caution that other holiday plants are much more deadly if eaten. Holly, holly berries, mistletoe, and lilies have been known to kill cats and dogs after just two bites.

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