When Chip Paillex 's company amassed excess produce in 2002 , he purchased the land . He soon began a nonprofit , growing crops for the Garden State 's less fortunate . By 2005 , he left his corporate job to devote himself full time to America 's Grow - a - Row . `` There 's a sense of community that comes out of this program , '' he said . It has since grown to 49 acres of land and nearly 4,000 volunteers .
When Chip Paillex 's company amassed excess produce in 2002 , he purchased the land . He soon began a nonprofit , growing crops for the Garden State 's less fortunate . By 2005 , he left his corporate job to devote himself full time to America 's Grow - a - Row . It has since grown to 49 acres of land and nearly 4,000 volunteers .