Harvesting Hope: Iowa Teen’s 7,000-pound Garden Bounty Feeds Thousands, Aims to Triple Impact by 2025 with Lauren Schroeder

Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens

Today we’re heading to rural Dixon, Iowa to meet Lauren Schroeder and her mom Katie on their family farm, and Lauren’s FFA advisor and ag teacher, Jenna Kingsley.

Lauren is a junior at Calamus-Wheatland High School. She shows sheep and rabbits at county fairs, plays softball and volleyball, she’s the junior class president, and somehow, Lauren, who is a three-time National FFA grant recipient and a My Impact Challenge Special Award winner, has found time to grow more than $15,300 in retail value of fruits and vegetables over the past two years and donate them to local nonprofits.

Having already donated more than 7,000 pounds from her bounty of 25 different crops, Lauren will triple her impact when she meets her goal of expanding to two acres and growing and donating a total of 20,000 pounds of fresh produce to at least 10 organizations by the end of her community service project in the summer 2025.

We have a lot to talk about like where in the world Lauren came up with this idea, how many green beans she’s donated and how she likes to cook them at home, why she’s watering it all by hand with watering cans, how Jenna sees Lauren’s project inspiring others, and what impact her generous bounties have had on communities.

Her mom, Katie shares her recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce, how Lauren gives with the goodness of her heart, and, a heartwarming story about the time she saw firsthand how the fresh produce affected a mom and her children at a domestic violence shelter.

While you’re listening, go to randomsweets.com to see the photos of Lauren with all her bounties and the recipes for green beans and spaghetti sauce.

Watch Lauren on ABC News: Teen harvests huge vegetable garden for charity.

Lauren in the Washington Post: Iowa teen grew 7,000 pounds of veggies, then gave them all away

#ourSweetMidwestLife

Website: randomsweets.com

Instagram: @potatoesandmittens

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