Burpee tackles food deserts

Building on its mission to spread healthy living and home-grown garden success across the nation, Burpee Home Gardens is putting rubber to the road with its Grow Anywhere Tour and new Burpee food truck. With cross-country stops in 25 cities, the Grow Anywhere Tour food truck will give away 39,000 pounds of fresh vegetables and 13,000 vegetable plants to people living in food deserts.

Food deserts are areas designated as having no easy and close access to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables in a geographic radius. Often these areas only afford access to fast foods and processed ingredients, further exacerbating poor dietary habits. The USDA has identified more than 6,000 food deserts in the continental U.S. affecting nearly 13.6 million people with low access to fresh produce sources.

"The Grow Anywhere Tour and the Burpee food truck is all about sharing food for the long term," said Diane Hund, director of marketing at Burpee Home Gardens. "By providing starter plants and helpful advice, we're bringing more solutions to folks without access to fresh fruits and vegetables."

Communities can support the Grow Anywhere Tour through donations and by selecting the food truck's destinations via Burpee's website and social media pages. Watch the truck's progress with an interactive map and information app on Facebook.com/BurpeeHomeGardens.