Maddie Yang ’27 Leads Initiatives Addressing Food Insecurity and Sustainability

Merle-Smith Campus student Maddie Yang ’27 was recently featured in Lehigh Valley Live for her work addressing food insecurity and advancing sustainable practices.

 

Her involvement began in eighth grade when she learned that Bethlehem, her hometown, is classified as a food desert, an area where access to fresh, affordable, and nutritious food is limited. Motivated to address this disparity, Maddie co-founded Food to Flourish in 2023, a youth-led organization focused on expanding access to nutritious food. The group has established seed libraries across the United States and Canada, distributing more than 8,600 seed packets in over 60 locations, allowing community members to take and contribute seeds freely.

 

On the Merle-Smith Campus, Maddie leads the Green Team and launched the Garden Club, which gets students involved in the campus garden. She has also been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Villar’s Institute fellowship for international sustainability in Switzerland.

 

Beyond her school commitments, Maddie hosts two programs on WDIY, Lehigh Valley Public Radio. Her five-minute segment Environmental Minute explores topics she wants to learn more about, including biodiversity, ecotourism, and sustainable alternatives. Her second program, Roots and Resilience, is a podcast-length show focused on people’s stories and their connection to sustainability. Guests have included playmakers from the Seed Savers Exchange and the Rodale Institute.

 

Maddie and two co-authors wrote Green Eats: Sustainable Recipes and Activities by Kids, for Kids, encouraging children to make environmentalism a part of their everyday lives. She says that the energy around sustainability in the Lehigh Valley serves as a reminder of the future she hopes to help create (Mayer, 2026). 

 

Maddie’s dedication to sustainability and community leadership sets an inspiring example for our community and serves as a reminder of the power of youth leadership in advancing meaningful change. 

 

Mayer, H. (2026, March 29). This Bethlehem teenager is fighting food deserts one seed library at a time. Lehigh Valley Live. https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/2026/03/this-bethlehem-teenager-is-fighting-food-deserts-one-seed-library-at-a-time.html