Although in Scotland we are a couple of weeks behind England in coming out of lockdown, we are looking forward to certain relaxations of the Covid-19 rules at the end of the month.

To recognise the need to spread some hope and lift the nation’s spirits the supermarket, Morrisons is giving away 25 million sunflower seeds to customers.

These will be offered to customers in packs of ten at the checkout after they have finished their shopping or included with online shopping orders.

Morrisons Community Champions will also work with schools, care homes and community groups to distribute packs and plant seeds in their own areas. The seeds will grow into dwarf sunflowers between six and fourteen inches tall.

Rose Morgan, Community Champion at Morrisons store in Peckham, came up with the idea to help customers plant hope for a brighter future as lockdown restrictions start to ease.

Rose said: ā€œEveryone is emerging from lockdown in different ways and I wanted to give my customers fresh hope and food for the heart by putting smiles on as many faces as possible. I had the idea of using sunflower seeds to represent this new beginning and emailed David, our CEO, to tell him weā€™d be giving some away in our store in Peckham. Iā€™m so happy he liked the idea and am very proud that it will now be taking place in all Morrisons stores.ā€ 

Morrisons will be giving away the 2.5 million packets of sunflower seeds to customers in all 497 stores from Monday 12 April. They should be planted in a 6-inch-diameter pot at a depth of half an inch and will begin to sprout in two to five days. 

David Potts, Morrisons CEO, said: ā€œThis has been a very difficult year for our country and this winter has seemed especially dark and tough. So as spring arrives, and with Covid seemingly in retreat, we want to help celebrate the growing sense of national optimism by planting these sunflowers across the UK, representing the brighter and lighter times of hope ahead.ā€Ā Ā 

To continue to spread messages of hope, Morrisons Community Champions have also launched the  ā€˜Little Sunshineā€™ award – to recognise those who have gone above and beyond in their local community throughout the pandemic. 

All 497 Morrisons stores will deliver ā€˜Little Sunshineā€™ certificates and gifts to hundreds of children nationwide who have been nominated for their contribution to supporting the local community through the pandemic.Ā 

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.