Burpee ‘Grow Anywhere Tour’ – First Stop, Charlotte, North Carolina!
Burpee Edible Gardening Team Members
Good morning Charlotte! The "Grow Anywhere Tour" arrived at Stacy’s Greenhouses in York, SC in the brisk morning air to find Stephanie and Tommy waiting for us! They helped us load the truck with 500 Burpee Home Gardens pepper, tomato, zucchini and cucumber plants for us to give away at Hidden Valley Elementary School in Charlotte.
Before going to Hidden Valley Elementary we decided to drop in on our friends at Tractor Supply Company in Rock Hill, SC. This will be the first year that the Tractor Supply Company will be offering vegetable plants in stores, so it was exciting to introduce the first live plants to their customers. We were able to make some lucky customers pretty happy by handing out a few free tomato plants and recipe cards. We said our goodbyes and headed out to pick up produce for our very first school event on the "Grow Anywhere Tour."
With produce loaded, we headed to Hidden Valley Elementary School in the afternoon. We were met by their science teacher, Mrs. Cooper, who coordinated the event at the school. Mrs. Cooper, the teachers, and community volunteers helped us unload the truck and give away the produce. Many thanks to Mrs. Cooper and the folks at Hidden Valley Elementary!
The Burpee Truck had a great visit (see the video at the end)! We estimated that over 500 people attended the event. We gave away all of the vegetable plants in less than an hour! The kids were smiling and showing great interest in gardening. Parents and children alike were happy to learn all they could about growing vegetables.
We heard so many great things about the community and about their school pride. People were very grateful of our stop. One of the teachers told us that we were making a great impact in the community. Many of the parents asked questions about how to grow veggies and were eager to grow their own produce! One of our goals is to strengthen communities and the turnout today along with the helpfulness of the teachers and volunteers proved that this is already a strong community!
We gave 50 vegetable plants to the school for their own garden. The students and teachers will tend the garden and learn about plant and earth sciences. The school even saved the produce boxes for future art projects! Now that’s a great idea!
Thanks so much for a fantastic first event Hidden Valley! Next stop: Charles R. Drew Charter School in Atlanta. Can’t wait to meet the community there! The Burpee Truck rolls on...
Follow the truck as it travels the country this spring! Real-time updates on Twitter @BurpeeHG, #BurpeeTruck, #GrowAnywhereTour.