Take Action On The First Annual Plant A Seed DayMarch 19, 2019 For the first time, a national campaign takes place this week encouraging children, teachers, and families to invest in a greener, healthier future by planting a seed. The hope is that Plant a Seed Day will teach kids that growing real food is both powerful and essential. Launched by Kimbal Musk and Big Green, Plant a Seed Day will be celebrated on March 20th, 2019. The idea is to out-smart junk food, capturing the interest and appetites of kids across the country and around the world. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” I hope #PlantASeedDay can mobilize change to become more connected to our food. 🌱#BeASeedofChange. Thank you @SeedsofChange @marsglobal for donating 200,000 seed packets! 🌱🙏 pic.twitter.com/xuFtsFZM6b— Kimbal Musk (@kimbal) March 17, 2019 Even though it’s the first annual edition, Musk is confident one million seeds will be planted. And why shouldn’t he achieve that goal? It’s incredibly easy to participate in this big day. Here’s what you have to do:- Go to Plant a Seed Day’s website and pledge to plant- Order your seeds- Plant your seeds- Share on social media. Growing Roots will donate $1 to Big Green for every post that uses #plantaseedday. So far, the movement has garnered pledges from more than 150,000 people in 34 states. We need this initiative to grow to help food-insecure children and families take charge of what they put into their bodies. Do It For Kids Like EmmaOn his blog, Musk writes about Emma, a fifth-grade student from Chicago. She’s been fighting hunger for as long as she can remember. One day, after finding only rice and some beans in her cupboard, she decided to make something out of almost nothing and plant the beans in her backyard. Soon, Emma had more beans than she could count. In April 2018, Big Green built a learning garden at Emma’s school, where the smart, inspiring little girl teaches her peers how to grow their food. There are so many other kids like Emma out there — too many to count. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Plant a Seed Day was observed the same as any other major holiday? What if everybody cared about growing food? A very sly-looking Musk was booted off Fox’s airwaves last year after using the platform to promote Plant a Seed Day. The host of Fox Business, Stuart Varney, wanted to discuss big brother Elon’s replacement as chairman of Tesla. Incredibly frustrated, he asked Kimbal Musk if he thought Fox’s viewers cared about planting seeds. They should. Growing food is magic. The Impact is RealMusk points to research Big Green conducted with the University of Colorado Denver proving how planting seeds and growing food carry quite an impact on children. After observing teachers, principals, and students, researchers found that kids who have the opportunity to grow food themselves are more likely to eat the produce after harvest. After one semester of following the Big Green program in a learning garden, 55% of students said they liked vegetables more than ever before. Even better, 53% admitted they had better access to veggies at home after taking what they’d learned in the garden back to their families. Planting seeds helps kids think differently about food. If You Can Eat It, Plant ItOn Plant a Seed Day, any seed will do. As Big Green indicates, there are seeds for every type of gardener. There are some for adventurous foodies, for beginners, as well as passionate green thumbs. There are even crops for beauty queens and wellness freaks! All you need it a seed packet and some good earth to get started. Will you participate? Featured image courtesy of Kids Gardening.