FarmVille players enjoy a taste of reality as they leave the virtual farm to plant a real fruit orchard

This summer, the Dreyer’s Fruit Bars* brand is bringing a taste of real life to the online gaming world.   On June 13, 2011, top players from Zynga’s wildly popular FarmVille game are packing their shovels and leaving their virtual farms behind as they head to rural Farmville, Virginia to plant an actual fruit orchard for the community.

The new orchard in Farmville, VA commemorates a branded integration between Dreyer’s Fruit Bars and FarmVille. From June 13 to June 19, 2011, FarmVille players across the country will plant limited edition Dreyer’s Fruit Bars branded crops within the FarmVille game, earning additional profitability and the opportunity to receive mastery recognition for planting, growing and selling the Fruit Bars crops.

A handful of lucky players have been selected to plant trees in real life, as well.  Sharyn Martinez is among the FarmVille enthusiasts traveling to Farmville, VA to plant a fruit orchard with Dreyer’s Fruit Bars.  “Being from Los Angeles, I thought the only way I’d get to plant an orchard was on my beautiful virtual farm! But now, thanks to Dreyer’s Fruit Bars and Zynga, I am getting ready to dig in and plant fruit trees in the real town of Farmville,” says Sharyn.

The planting in Farmville, VA is an example of Dreyer’s Fruit Bars ongoing commitment to revitalizing one of our most precious resources:  fruit trees. In 2010, Fruit Bars introduced Communities Take Root, an annual program dedicated to planting fruit tree orchards in deserving communities nationwide.  Throughout the summer, Dreyer’s Fruit Bars invites people across the United States to cast their vote to help twenty communities blossom, one orchard at a time. 

“Dreyer’s is passionate about helping neighborhoods become greener, healthier and of course, sweeter. We’re thrilled to introduce Fruit Bars and the Communities Take Root program to Farmville’s passionate community, and to support FarmVille players in bring a thriving fruit orchard to the Farmville, VA community,” says Jia Li, Fruit Bars Associate Brand Manager.

To learn more about Dreyer’s Fruit Bars and Communities Take Root, visit www.CommunitiesTakeRoot.com to read the inspiring nominations and cast your vote. The communities with the most votes will receive a fruit tree orchard, which will be planted in partnership with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to planting fruit trees to support healthy nutrition worldwide.

*Marketed as Edy’s® Fruit Bars in the Midwest and East.