An Iowa student has grown and donated 7,000 pounds of produce valued at around $15,000 to feed the needy.
According to KWQC TV6, Lauren Schroeder is a high school student at Calamus-Wheatland High School. She is also a two-time winner of the Future Farmers of America national grant winner due to her efforts.
She has utilized a half acre of land her parents gave her for planting to cultivate fruits and vegetables and spent over 1,000 hours working in the fields to ensure that her donations are ample.
Her siblings and parents have helped her harvest and transport her goods to various food pantries.
Schroeder stated, “I wanted to have something that would impact people and not just go show cattle.”
“I want to impact community members. Many people help you out, but it makes more difference when you help other people out. That’s what makes me most happy,” she added.
Shroeder noted that she plans to grow and donate 20,000 pounds of food by the time she graduates in 2025.
So far, she has donated to various charities that help people in need. These include the Carroll Assistance Center, Community Action of Eastern Iowa, Family Resources, Lady of the Prairie, Lost Nation Food Pantry and River Bend Food Bank.
She has plans to extend her garden in the future and expand her list of organizations to donate to.
Her mother commented on her daughter’s good deeds, noting how proud she is of her daughter.
She stated, “How could you not be proud?”
“She really chose to focus on learning about agronomy, learning about gardening, learning about vegetables, but just really taking it to the next level and actually helping people out with it,” she concluded.