The following is a sponsored post on behalf of McDonald’s. All opinions – and fun – are my own.
This past weekend, I took my son to one of our local McDonald’s which was hosting an Earth Day event with a neighboring community garden. They have somewhat recently begun partnering and McDonald’s now gives the community garden coffee grounds for their composting efforts. It’s part of McDonald’s new “Good Neighbors, Good Grounds” recycling program.
For those local to Asheville, the McDonald’s we visited is the Merrimon Avenue location. They are working with Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church’s garden.
So on Saturday, we ventured out and luckily had great weather (because it appears to be monsoon season in Asheville.) I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as kid activities, and I talked to my boy about Earth Day before we got there. (His take on Earth Day is we want to take care of the earth so it doesn’t fly off and hit another planet – Jupiter, to be specific.)
They had stations to start your own seeds! We have a garden (no secret there) but haven’t planted more than lettuce or spinach this year. So he put dirt into the cardboard egg cartons, and then was asked which seeds he wanted to try. He was adamant about growing carrots, and we were lucky they had some carrot seed packets. He also chose kale and radishes. He dropped his seeds into the “pods”, covered with more dirt, and then sprinkled water over all of the dirt. I put the egg carton into the car so we could explore the gardens.
He was so excited to walk through the garden! He really wanted to pick vegetables, but I was able to talk him out of that. We walked around and read all of the signs, and we talked about composting (we have a compost bin in our yard, but have really been slack about using it the past year. I told my husband that I want to get back into the habit with garden season approaching.)
So back to the McDonald’s partnership. They’re working with various community gardens, and right now we’re a test market. I learned, however, that if you have a garden in mind for this type of partnership, all you have to do is ask the restaurant about working together. It’s that simple. This partnership is a great fit because the parking lot of McDonald’s is adjacent to the garden – it really was meant to be! And as someone who has composted in the past, coffee grounds are SO easy to compost, and so great for the soil.
I really love when big companies can give back to their communities in useful ways.
We also had to take a moment to have some fun.
Now it’s your turn for some garden fun! Enter the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win a garden pack and $25 gift card to McDonald’s. This giveaway will run for two weeks, with a winner announced on May 9.
Do you compost? What is your favorite herb or vegetable to grow?
I love growing basil (because…pesto.) Tomatoes are one of my favorite vegetables to grow – and cucumbers! And now I want to grow all the things…
Neely Moldovan says
Wow how cool! I love supporting companies who do such graet things.
Neha Saini says
Great to know that MC Donald’s gives the community garden coffee grounds for their composting efforts. Its a great initiative.
Anita Duvall says
I love to grow fresh tomatoes the most. I think because I love them so much.
maria @closetohome says
WE grow lots of tomatoes in our compact garden I love cucumbers too.
Darcy Koch says
My favorite vegetable to grow are tomatoes because you can use them in so many ways.
Liz Mays says
What an awesome community project. It’s cool that you were able to check things out and learn about gardening and composting!
Kelly D says
I like to grow zucchini.
Jessica To says
I like to grow green beans.
Lauren says
I like to grow zucchini.
E. Smith says
Now this is an initiative I can support! What a fantastic community project!
Steven Weber says
I love growing fresh basil.
KENNETH OHL says
tomatoes I try every year
Melissa Ochoa says
My favorite to grow are pumpkins because they are so easy
Adriane says
I grew my first tomatoes last spring 🙂
Natalie says
My favorite vegetable to grow are tomatoes because they are low maintenance and hard to kill!
Veronique says
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Dawn Ganey says
I love basil.
Tara L says
I love growing Cilantro. It’s the best and smells so good. Vegetable I wouldn’t mind growing Green Peppers. I hope that those grow from the ground ha ha.
Dawn Ballo says
Our favorite thing to grow in our garden is tomatoes.
Terra Heck says
Our favorites to grow are radishes and green beans. Thanks.
partymix25(at)hotmail(dot)com
Marissa Zurfluh says
This is awesome. I can not wait to get my own garden going. I think my kids are looking forward to it more, however.
Laurajj says
Oh we have so many favorites…I think mine is peppers! We love growing all sizes and colors!
Bridgett Wilbur says
My kids love to grow corn on the cob.
Susan Smith says
My favorite thing to grow in my garden is tomatoes
Cheryl B says
I love growing lettuce and tomatoes.
Dana Rodriguez says
I just started some tomatoes last Sunday and they are about 2 inches tall already.
Cynthia R says
I like growing tomatoes and cucumbers and I enjoy herbs like basil and cilantro.
Stephanie says
i like to grow tomatoes
Laurie Nykaza says
I love to grow tomatoes basil and onions just to name of few of the items i grow to cook with.
Barbara Montag says
I love growing tomatoes – taste so much better than the ones we buy in the store.
thank you
Sunnymay says
My favorite herb to grow is mint, because it spreads easily. So I keep it in a pot. Chives are also easy to grow and taste good on Baked Potatoes.
Sara C says
I like to grow basil because I use it a lot.
Heather Hayes Panjon says
I love growing bell/sweet peppers
Madonna says
We always grow tomatoes even if we plant nothing else.
Chrissy says
My favorite vegetable to grow is zucchini because even I can keep zucchini alive!!
melissa craig says
we love growing both tomatoes and cucumbers, we can both and have so many pickles by the end of the summer we give most away
Sarah Mayer says
I love growing sugar snap peas.
Sarah Hall says
I love to grow tomatoes as we really like to eat tomatoes.