WWII veteran feeds 1000s from his own garden!

After feeling a tug on his heart to help feed children in need, Bill Brown launched The Children's Table to grow crops to fill bellies. Now he's providing food and care to more people than he ever dreamed!

- Kellie B. Gormly

Can you help these kids? They have nothing to eat!” a social worker told WWII veteran William “Bill” Brown. He and his wife, Verna, had been fostering children in their Bronson, Florida, town for many years and knew the struggles they faced.

Nobody should go hungry! Bill thought, his heart moved. I'll do anything to help them.

He had a lifelong passion for gardening that was instilled in him by his mother during the Great Depression, Bill and Verna had bought a property with 20 acres to grow crops like beans, peppers and corn.

Thinking back on the life lessons his mother had taught him, Bill remembered sharing okra, peas, beans, onions and collard greens from the Mississippi farm where he grew up with all of his neighbors. Planting and picking the crops with the family was a favorite pastime, and Bill knew just what he could do to help.

“We can feed kids with food from our huge garden!” Bill decided, telling Verna his plans.

Filling bellies—and hearts

Week after week, the couple fed more and more families in need with fresh vegetables they grew themselves.