By Jen Lemcke, CEO of Weed Man

The special thing about a franchise system like Weed Man is that no matter how large we grow, we are always deeply rooted in our local communities. I’m proud to say that our franchisees bring out the best of being locally owned and operated – whether it’s our Epic3 Group donating to the Ronald McDonald House, our Greenville and Lexington locations jumping into action for hurricane relief, or our Kalamazoo location volunteering to beautify their local little league fields (and I could go on and on). But we also know that we are stronger when we are working together. That’s why this past year, for the first time in Weed Man’s history, we came together to conduct a brand-wide give-back initiative: Grassroots Giving.

Our 2024 fall food drive invited Weed Man customers to donate shelf-stable, non-perishable food and household items—like canned goods, pasta, rice, and peanut butter—conveniently during their regularly scheduled fall lawn care services. The donations were collected by our technicians and delivered to local food banks, directly benefiting community members in need. Our customers, employees, and franchisees really rose to the challenge. Together, across the US and Canada, we amassed an incredible 76,000 pounds of food — that’s an estimated 64,000 meals!

This achievement reminds us that franchise brands like Weed Man have the unique opportunity to make a tangible impact in the communities we serve. We’re excited to do it again next year, with even more ambitious giving goals to combat food insecurity in our local communities.