#PlantItForward with Kashi

With the always rising costs of food, and many people focusing more on eating healthy, nutritious food, I think we are all looking for ways to eat better, but save money at the same time. One easy way to do that is by growing your own fruit and vegetables!

Did you know that less than half of Canadians have actually grown their own fruits or veggies? And while many of us like to visit farmer’s markets or community gardens to get our hands on fresh produce, the Kashi Plant It Forward survey recently discovered that one third of Canadians never visit either. That’s a heck of a lot of people who aren’t taking advantage of some of the easiest ways to get their hands on freshly grown, local, and inexpensive food. And that is precisely why Kashi and Evergreen have partnered for a second year in a row on the #PlantItForward initiative, which aims to build and support community gardens across Canada so deserving communities can get closer to real, fresh food.

I think many Canadians are turned off by gardening because they don’t have the land (all you apartment and condo dwellers), feel overwhelmed by having to maintain and tend a large garden, or simply don’t know where to start. And that is the beauty of becoming a little farmer! You can grow lots of foods right in pots on your window sill or deck, or prepare just a small garden of a few square feet to start you off. Then as the years go by and you feel more confident in your farming abilities your garden can grow right along with you! And if gardening truly is not a possibility for you, making an effort to support those who do grow locally by attending farmer’s markets or buying from your neighbour’s fruit and veggie stand can go a long way to making a difference!

“We want to inspire the next generation of little farmers,” explains Jenn Carkner, Senior Brand Manager, Kashi Canada. “That’s why Kashi created the Plant it Forward initiative. Over the past two years, we’ve contributed over $100,000 to Evergreen’s Seeding Healthy Communities program to help build and support urban gardens across Canada so deserving communities can get closer to real food. We’re also making it easy for Canadians to get involved by placing organic vegetable seeds on specially marked boxes of Kashi cereal and bars so that everyone can join in and grow something delicious this gardening season.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0bf-Jw6ghI

[Tweet “Let’s #PlantItForward with @Kashi_CA & @suziconfesses and get real about food! https://youtu.be/R0bf-Jw6ghI”]

By the end of the year, it is the mission of the Kashi Plant it Forward initiative to have planted or seeded 13,000 edible plants, harvested 7,000 pounds of food and trained 1,750 Canadians in urban agriculture techniques. Over 10,000 people will be engaged with urban gardens and 100 volunteers, including 12 volunteer leaders, will have been enlisted.

What’s more, today’s kids can’t even identify real foods. They are so accustomed to eating processed package foods that a radish is foreign territory!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53ahKNM-m70

Kashi is right. We all need to know more about foods, that’s why it’s time for us to embrace the little farmer within. 

Everyone can join the Plant It Forward mission by picking up a box of specially marked Kashi cereal or bars in their local grocery store. With each purchase, Kashi will donate to the Plant it Forward initiative, up to a maximum of $50,000. In addition, consumers will also receive a free packet of organic seeds such as carrots, spinach, beets, kale and tomatoes, so they too can grow a little farm of their own at home.

Kashi is calling on Canadians to celebrate the little farmer within by sharing a picture of them getting their hands dirty planting fresh food using the #PlantItForward hashtag on Twitter or on the Kashi Canada Facebook page.  By joining the conversation, Canadian green thumbs will be inspired with easy to follow tips and videos to help grow and care for their own fresh food. They’ll even learn how to transform a Kashi cereal box into a planter!

Kashi’s Commitment to Real Food

To show how committed Kashi is to real food, a number of their products are now Certified GMO free including Kashi Organic Promise Quinoa Multigrain Flakes & Raisins and Kashi GOLEAN Original cereals. Major kudos to you Kashi, I’m so glad they’ve taken this step, and look forward to the day all of their products are GMO free!

A Giveaway!

Now don’t you want to get your hands dirty? I know I do! And you can join me! One of my readers is going to win this awesome prize pack, including some organic seeds to get your little garden started from Kashi to help you #PlantItForward!

To Enter:

Please follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway is open only to legal residents of Canada. A winner will be chosen and contacted on Friday, May 29, 2015.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Kashi Canada, all opinions and views expressed are my own.