Food truck that encourages nutrition, gardening stops at Cleveland K-8 school

This article was originally published on Friday, May 10 and was updated on Wednesday, May 15.

On Monday, May 13, the national Burpee Home Gardens “Grow Anywhere Tour” rolled into town in the decked-out Burpee truck to deliver fresh produce, vegetable plants and gardening support materials to students, parents and community members at Watterson-Lake Elementary School (K-8) in Cleveland, OH.

The first tour of its kind, the “Grow Anywhere Tour” delivered 450 vegetable plants and 1,300 pounds of produce to the community as part of its crosscountry journey to raise awareness of food deserts — areas with limited access to fresh produce.

This year, more than 1.25 million votes were cast on Facebook in a competition to select the “Grow Anywhere Tour” stops in 23 of the country’s largest urban cities. Watterson-Lake Elementary received the most votes of all competing schools in Cleveland. As part of the visit, the school also received 50 vegetable plants for its school garden. The visit was from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The “Grow Anywhere Tour” truck hit the road in March and will travel more than 10,000 miles to deliver 30,000 pounds of fresh produce, 13,000 vegetable plants, gardening information and support that shows the country how easy it is to grow healthy food anywhere. Through demonstrations and educational materials, Burpee Home Gardens is helping communities explore the basics of urban gardening, including small spaces, balconies, back patios and rooftops.

For more information about the tour, visit www.burpeehomegardens.com.

Look for our video with highlights from the event soon.