'Grow Anywhere Tour' - Houston here we come!
Burpee Edible Gardening Team Members
We found ourselves navigating through downtown Houston's morning rush hour traffic en route to the Brookwood Community Gift & Garden Center for plant pickup, but we made it in time. We were greeted by Nancy Brahm, a lead grower at the facility who graciously offered us a grand tour. The greenhouses at Brookwood are staffed almost entirely by adults with disabilities. We were lucky enough to introduce ourselves and shake hands with every one of the employees, and got a first-hand look at the great work they do.
We learned that the retail center and some of the greenhouses were badly damaged by a recent hail storm, but the staff had a great attitude and the store remained open for business.
The next stop was Brother's Produce, where we scooped up cucumbers, green bell peppers and tomatoes for the event. We were now stocked up and ready for the "Grow Anywhere Tour" giveaway!
As we pulled up to Ridgemont Early Childhood Center, we were excited to see families already lined up to receive their plants and produce! Teachers and volunteers were once again at full strength and the Burpee bags were filled quickly with fresh food. Much like our colleague Michele Andre did in Baton Rouge, Burpee Home Gardens own sales rep Bill Wilson was on hand to assist and answer questions throughout the event. Big thanks to Bill!
It was great to see the volunteers eager to learn about the plants and our cause. They exhibited their passion by helping the students choose the vegetable plant that best suited their taste and growing location. They were our “Lonestar” volunteers! Nick Cantu (he's pictured with us in the photo below) and his staff of volunteers truly did an excellent job; we would not have had such great success without them! With all the plants and vegetables handed out and boxes and trays recycled, we presented the school with enough plants to start their own vegetable garden. We hope to check in on them soon to see how it turns out!
A big thank you is in order to everyone who helped make the Houston event a great experience. Next stop, Dallas!
Follow the truck as it travels the country this spring! Real-time updates on Twitter @BurpeeHG, #BurpeeTruck, #GrowAnywhereTour.