One out of two people in the world today live on less than two dollars a day, while over one billion people live on less than one dollar a day. As a result, many people who do not have enough food have little or no money to buy good seed to grow kitchen gardens. Children are the most vulnerable victims of this poverty. Almost 40% of children under five living in developing countries are stunted in growth due to chronic under nutrition.

Seed Programs International (SPI) is a non-profit tax exempt humanitarian organization working to help poor families, orphans and school children grow kitchen gardens. SPI provides good seed at low cost, needed seed expertise often lacking by people living in third world countries, plus assistance in operating kitchen garden programs. SPI is operated by individuals with over 50 years seed industry experience, plus over 12 years experience operating programs that have shipped over 12 million packets of garden seed to more than 50 countries enabling people to grow some of their own food. Most humanitarian organizations and individuals do not have the seed capability of SPI.

An assortment of 10-14 kinds of vegetable seed is normally provided for growing kitchen gardens. Seed is supplied in packets printed in 12 languages with other languages as needed. Normally, an assortment of seed for 100 families is shipped in a box weighing about 10 kilos and about two cubic feet in size. Packets of seed are placed in sealed plastic bags to protect against high moisture and a label explaining how to store and handle seed properly is attached to each shipping container. Large shipments are palletized. No bulk seed for commercial farmers is provided.

Phytosanitary Certificates are supplied as needed, provided they can be obtained, along with Humanitarian Donation Invoices. Tests are performed twice a year to check quality of seed being shipped. Easy to understand instructions to help grow better gardens can be provided. Packets of flower seed to help brighten peoples lives can also be supplied. Seed cost is $.10 - $.15 per packet depending on volume, plus shipping cost from the United States. Cost is subject to change.