Altruistic Teenager

When Iowa teenager, Lauren Schroeder decided to volunteer at her local community food drive she noticed that a lot of the food was processed and canned rather than fresh nutritious ingredients. She decided to become the change she wanted to see, and used half an acre of her parent’s land to grow over 3000 kgs of fresh vegetables, which she gave away to food banks and non-profit organizations. Her work drew the attention of the group, ‘Future Farmers of America’, who gave her a small grant, and soon she was growing 15 different types of vegetables, and had encouraged her younger siblings to help too. Lauren said. “It’s a really good feeling to know that anyone who wants fresh vegetables will be able to get them,” After receiving a second grant she took on more land and expanded the variety of vegetables she could grow. Her parents have supported her all the way and mum Katie comments “She really chose to focus on learning about agronomy, and how to grow vegetables, but taking it to the next level and actually helping people out with it – how could we not be proud?”