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HANCOCK -- It may not look like it now but soon these tiny plants will grow and become some of the most common foods we eat.  

Horticulturist Wendy Wiegert has been striving for sustainable agriculture for the past eight years and she grows about 80,000 vegetables that range from tomatoes to cabbage each season.

Weigert is also a participant in a program called “Need for Seed”.

“The ‘Need for Seed’ program was started by a gal in Texas through an organic gardening group and she saw that there was a need for other people to be able to afford to buy seed,” Weigert.

Weigert is one of the main suppliers for the program and donates seeds that go to families in need locally and all across the United States. The seeds also go to community gardens.

The types of seeds used are called heirlooms and they are the only seed that can be saved and reused year after year. In fact as long as they are stored in a cool dry place, they can last for 100 years.

Weigert says she needs volunteers to help grow as well as package the seeds which will then be distributed.

"When people volunteer for the program, they get free seed to grow. They grow the seed and they get to keep half the crops and the other half they send it back to us and with the value of that seed they get in return more packets of seed,” said Weigert.

Profits from the sale of the seeds go to the program and volunteers also have the opportunity to collect and dry the seeds.  

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer click here.