Cheerios gives away seeds to boost bee populations

Cheerios has pledged to give away seeds in hopes of increasing the population of bees, which are a crucial pollinator for world food supplies.

You may have noticed that Buzz the Cheerios mascot has been missing. The cereal is using his absence to raise awareness of dwindling bee populations across the United States and the world.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 42 percent of bee colonies in the U.S. collapsed in 2015.

The company, which has partnering with Veseys Seeds, has pledged to send out 100 million wildflower seeds.

Anyone interested in helping is asked to use the #BringBacktheBees hashtag on social media and to sign up on the Cheerios website to receive 100 free seeds.

The company suggests seeds be planted in a bee-friendly area.

WLS-TV contributed to this report.