Happy Earth Day! Today was indeed a fantastic one. We started out bright and early at the ABC studios in downtown Salt Lake City to film a segment on Good Morning Utah. We were interviewed about the Grow Anywhere Tour and were asked to offer special gardening tips. At the end of the segment, ABC advertised the time and place where the Burpee truck would be to ensure a big turnout. We hoped the community of Escalante Elementary School was ready!
After filming, we headed off to A&Z produce, not far from the studios. They were awesome. We loaded 1,500 pounds of great-looking produce: a mix of cucumbers, tomatoes and sweet peppers. The back of the truck was very packed full of fresh veggies! We immediately headed out to J&J Nursery in West Layton. Andy and his team run a great operation, to say the least. We loaded all 500 very healthy looking plants onto the van and were ready to go for the school event. But first we spent some time with J&J customers. There was a special Burpee Home Gardens section right in the store, so it was easy to share gardening tips and raise awareness about Burpee products with local gardeners. It was a Monday afternoon, and you wouldn’t believe how busy this retailer was! Our fellow Burpee Home Gardens team members Carolyn Dixon and Don Humphries came out to help and added great support.
Soon we were on the road to Escalante Elementary in Salt Lake City. Upon arrival, we met with Mrs. Tillie Uribe and a line of her students who jumped and cheered when they saw the #BurpeeTruck decked out in tomato decals. We knew it was going to be a fun event. They already had tables and volunteers ready and excited to hand out the fresh and healthy products to the community. I don’t know if we could’ve survived without the volunteers. They were just a wonderful troop (and were very much needed with such a huge turnout!).
It was so awesome to see faces of the families and kids when we gave them their plants and their produce. The kids were especially excited to go home and grow their very own plant knowing they would harvest some tasty and nutritious vegetables later on from their good care. Some of the kids right away opened up their veggie bags to start munching on their cucumbers. The families that stopped by were very thankful that we were there and we were thankful to have the opportunity to serve the community in this way. One woman drove back to the event after visiting with us just to give the Burpee team a special thanks and express her gratitude. How sweet!
After a very successful and busy event, we gave away all 1,500 pounds of vegetables and 450 plants to the community. We also donated 50 plants to the school for their own garden. We had the opportunity to make many good people in Salt Lake City happier, as well as share our love of gardening. This truck stop reached an area that doesn’t have easy access to fresh and healthy foods, but our efforts have created excitement as well as awareness of home gardening and healthy eating.
We really hate to leave this place, but then again we can hardly wait for our next event in Denver! Let the adventure continue!
Follow the truck as it travels the country this spring! Real-time updates on Twitter @BurpeeHG, #BurpeeTruck, #GrowAnywhereTour.