Media Advisory: Agriculture Secretary to Present Certificate to 4th Grader Who Grew 22 Pound Cabbage

Natalie Fox and her award winning cabbage

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance will join Bonnie Plant’s Maryland Station Manager Lee Turner to present Natalie Fox, a student at Dr. James Craik Elementary School in Pomfret (Charles County), with a Winner’s Certificate and $1,000 scholarship check for growing a 22-pound O.S. Cross cabbage through Bonnie Plant’s Third Grade Cabbage Program. Natalie is now in fourth grade. She will receive the certificate and check during a school assembly in front of her classmates and current third graders who are participating in the cabbage growing program this year. School Principal Penny Berg-Nye and Natalie’s science teacher Jennifer Norris will lead the assembly.

Bonnie Plants distributes free cabbage plants to third-grade classrooms whose teachers or schools sign up to participate in the program. The students learn to care for and grow the plants. The goal of the program is to spark children’s interest in agriculture, help them understand where their food comes from, and allow them to learn the basics and joys of gardening. Each year, the company distributes more than 1 million free cabbage plants across the country. The cabbages are the O.S. Cross variety, which is known for producing giant, oversized heads, making the process even more exciting for students. The program has been in Maryland schools for 10 years. Last year, 6,403 third graders in Maryland received plants to take home and care for. Launched nationally in 2002, the program awards a $1,000 scholarship to one student in each participating state. For more information about the program, see: www.bonnieplants.com

Who: Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, Bonnie Plants Station Manager Lee Turner, Dr. James Craik Elementary School Principal Penny Nye and Science Teacher Jennifer Norris.

What: Presentation of Winner’s Certificate and check to 4th grader Natalie Fox, Maryland Winner of the Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program, during a school assembly.

When: Thursday, March 27, at 9:30 a.m.

Where: Dr. James Craik Elementary School, 7725 Marshall Corner Rd, Pomfret, MD 20675

Media representatives who would like to cover the event should RSVP to Vanessa Orlando at MDA at [email protected] or Katherine O’Malley-Simpson at the Charles County Board of Education at [email protected]

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