ScottsMiracle-Gro's National GroGood Campaign Comes to Dallas

* Reuters is not responsible for the content in this press release.

Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:50am EDT

Community garden expansion to benefit local food agencies 

DALLAS, April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- A local Dallas community garden has expanded
from 36 to 90 garden plots, thanks to the national GroGood campaign, a program
that encourages edible gardening. The GroGood initiative is sponsored in part
by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, its philanthropic partners, the City of
Dallas Green Dallas initiative and Keep Dallas Beautiful. The local garden's
harvest will be donated to nearby organizations that will provide Dallas'
hungry with the fresh-grown produce. 

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090420/CL01532 )  

The additional 54 garden plots were formally dedicated in a ceremony on
Saturday, April 18 at the Lake Highlands Community Garden on Goforth Road. A
1,400-square-foot donation garden was also unveiled and will produce food
solely for local food agencies. 

The GroGood program is designed to encourage residents to grow their own
fruits and vegetables, and donate the extra to community food agencies. The
edible garden project was coordinated by ScottsMiracle-Gro, Keep America
Beautiful, Keep Dallas Beautiful, the Garden Writers Association, Plant a Row
for the Hungry, the National Gardening Association and Franklin Park
Conservatory. 

Earlier this spring, ScottsMiracle-Gro, Plant a Row for the Hungry and Feeding
America announced they have joined forces in an effort to provide fresh
produce to the hungry this summer and to ask Americans to take the GroGood
pledge:  Grow for the greater good. To launch the GroGood campaign,
ScottsMiracle-Gro is donating 1 million pounds of produce and calling on
Americans to help double that donation by pledging to grow and donate an
additional 1 million pounds of fresh produce to help feed those at risk for
hunger. 

At Saturday's event Council Members Jerry Allen, District 10, and Sheffie
Kadane, District 9, led local gardeners in the GroGood pledge, an official
promise to grow and donate extra produce to help feed the hungry. National and
local representatives from the GroGood partnership provided gardening tips and
instruction to local gardeners and residents, and kids enjoyed an "Eat a
Rainbow" activity station where they learned about the health benefits
associated with consuming a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables. 

"The addition of more than 50 plots to this already well-established garden
and its involvement in the GroGood campaign takes the benefits of this
neighborhood garden a step further by contributing back to the hunger needs of
greater Dallas by sharing freshly grown fruits and vegetables," said District
10 Council Member Jerry Allen.  

The Lake Highlands Community Garden is the inaugural partnership between the
City of Dallas and local residents to find a productive and beneficial use for
unused property owned by the city. The garden is maintained by Lake Highlands
residents who care for a specific plot of their own and this year are sharing
extra produce for distribution by the food agencies Gleaning Network of Texas
and Family Gateway.

"It's inspiring to see how across the country, gardens have the power to bring
out the best in people and their neighborhoods," said Su Lok, director of
corporate and community partnerships for ScottsMiracle-Gro. "As more gardeners
look to grow their own produce this season, we hope they share a portion of
their harvest with those in need in their community." 

The Dallas garden is one of five GroGood gardens ScottsMiracle-Gro and its
partners will create across the country this spring to encourage neighborhood
participation in edible gardening and the GroGood campaign. In addition to the
Dallas garden, edible gardens were established in Los Angeles and Miami
earlier this spring, and gardens are planned for Washington, D.C. and Chicago
later this year. 

For more information on GroGood, food gardening and how to locate a local food
agency that accepts fresh produce, please visit www.grogood.com.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro
With nearly $3 billion in worldwide sales and more than 6,000 associates, The
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts
Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for
lawn and garden care, with products for professional horticulture as well. 
The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry.  In the U.S.,
the Company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R) and Ortho(R) brands are market-leading
in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup(R) brand, which is marketed in
North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. 
In the U.S. the Company operates Scotts LawnService(R), the second largest
residential lawn care service business.  In Europe, the Company's brands
include Weedol(R), Pathclear(R), Evergreen(R), Levington(R), Miracle-Gro(R),
KB(R), Fertiligene(R) and Substral(R). For additional information, visit us at
www.scotts.com.


SOURCE  The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company

Keri Butler, of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, +1-937-644-7410
Comments (0)
This discussion is now closed. We welcome comments on our articles for a limited period after their publication.