The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company today announced the launch of Gro More Good, a national initiative that will bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens and green spaces to 10 million children over the next five years.
From food deserts and poor nutrition to childhood obesity and nature deficit, the lack of access to gardens and greenspaces is impacting today’s children. To help find a solution to this issue, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company is partnering with leading not-for-profit organizations and other partners across the United States as part of its Gro More Good initiative to combat pressing challenges facing today’s youth, improving children’s access to fresh food and increasing their time spent outdoors connected to nature.
Gro More Good is an enterprise-wide commitment for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company being largely implemented by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation. Funding for the Foundation comes through the sale of ScottsMiracle-Gro’s leading branded products, including Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, and Ortho®. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation will work simultaneously to elevate the critical need to connect more children to gardening and outdoor play.
“It’s important we provide as many opportunities as possible for children to connect with the natural world around them,” said Jim Hagedorn, chairman, and CEO, ScottsMiracle-Gro. “As more and more children spend less time outside and have less understanding of where their food comes from, we have an obligation to help reconnect children to gardening and the outdoors for their positive growth and well-being.”
Supporting more youth garden and green space development comes at a critical time when challenges facing today’s youngest generation are significant, and problems with children’s physical, mental and social health are on the rise. However, ScottsMiracle-Gro’s work with communities over the past decade, as well as NGO and academic research, confirms that gardening and outdoor play provides a wide range of health benefits for children. These benefits include increased emotional well-being, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, more physical activity, improved relationships, and better academic performance. Read more