Miracle-Gro Brings Gardening Fun to Healthy Lunchtime Challenge Winners

MARYSVILLE, Ohio, July 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 8, Miracle-Gro® will welcome 54 kids and their guardians to the Westin Alexandria for a night of fun, gardening and healthy eating. Miracle-Gro joins Epicurious to sponsor the Welcome Dinner for winners of The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge and Kids' "State Dinner." The 54 winners represent all U.S. states, three territories and the District of Columbia.

The night will be divided into two activities for the junior chefs and adults, respectively, before they adjourn for a healthy, nutritious dinner with Epicurious. Kids will be inspired to create imagination gardens to welcome fairies, dinosaurs, and other magical creatures. Miracle-Gro will provide the supplies, leaving the imagination creation to the experts, the kids!

A Miracle-Gro brand ambassador will be on hand to lead an educational session on gardening. The winning chefs will learn how to grow fresh, healthy food for their family meals at home, while the adults will enjoy an Herb Mocktail hour hosted by Miracle-Gro scientist, Dr. Chris Cerveny. Cerveny will discuss herb gardening and easy tips for entertaining using herbs in various delicious dishes and drinks.

"Miracle-Gro is dedicated to empowering and encouraging the next generation of growers. That's why the partnership between Epicurious and Miracle-Gro makes perfect sense. With lessons on growing food and harvesting, the winning chefs will have all the knowledge they need to start their own garden at home and add fresh vegetables, fruit, and herbs to their family meals," said John Sass, vice president, Miracle-Gro.

The imagination gardens created by the winning chefs will be donated to The Ronald McDonald House of Greater Washington D.C. to inspire all who see these special creations to use their imagination and invite their fairy friends to visit.

In 2012 the D.C. Ronald McDonald House celebrated its ninth year and visited over 1,800 patients across four D.C. wards and served 701 families. These 12 fairy gardens will be in the house itself and used to bring fun, imagination and gardening to children in the D.C. area.

Michelle Obama's initiative "Let's Move" inspires kids to get up, get moving, and to stay fit. Miracle-Gro encourages kids to go outdoors and start a garden, volunteer at their local park or community garden. Bringing fun and imagination to the garden is an easy, great way to get kids off the couch, put down their electronics and reconnect with nature.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro
With nearly $3 billion in worldwide sales and more than 8,000 associates, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts®, Miracle-Gro®, and Ortho® brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup® 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®, the second largest residential lawn care service business. In Europe, the Company's brands include Weedol®, Pathclear®, Evergreen®, Levington®, Miracle-Gro®, KB®, Fertiligene® and Substral®. For additional information, visit us at www.scotts.com.

SOURCE ScottsMiracle-Gro