Madeline Yang, 17, was in eighth grade when she learned her community of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was a food desert, an area where many people can’t access affordable, high-quality food. To help, Madeline and a friend co-founded an organization called Food to Flourish, which hosts food drives, teaches people about gardening, and distributes seeds to communities across the U.S. and Canada.
Back to Teacher View
Student View
Q&A Corner
Courtesy of family
Madeline Yang is working to expand access to healthy food in the U.S.
Seeds of Change
Q: You support seed libraries, which offer free seeds for people to plant at home. What kinds do you provide?
A: We buy and donate seeds to seed libraries, which offer them free for people to plant at home. We give out a variety of seeds: herbs, tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, peas, lettuce, and much more.
Q: Any tips for helping a seed library?
A: Make the project manageable by starting with just one library. Heirloom seeds [which have been pollinated by nature rather than in a lab] are better for the environment and grow tastier food.
Q: What are you most proud of when it comes to Food to Flourish?
A: We support over 60 seed libraries. I love hearing about the communities that these libraries serve and how deeply they care about supporting their constituents.
Q: What do you want people to take away from your experience?
A: This is just a starting point. We need and want more people to care about [food insecurity] and get involved.
Text-to-Speech