Katie’s Krops: How one cabbage grew into a nationwide effort to fight hunger

A 9-year-old, a 40-pound cabbage, and a dream.

 

That’s what sparked the creation of Katie’s Krops, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting hunger one garden at a time.

 

What started as a school project for then third-grader Katie Stagliano has since grown into a national movement, empowering young gardeners to feed their communities.

 

“This is an experience that truly changed my life forever,” Stagliano said.

Now, at the age of 26, Stagliano spoke to the Daniel Island Garden Club at a recent meeting and told the members that it all started when she planted a cabbage for a school project.

 

Enamored by its size, she donated the massive 40-pound vegetable to a soup kitchen, where it helped feed more than 275 people. Seeing the direct impact of one homegrown vegetable, she knew she had to do more.

 

“At such a young age, I was introduced to the issues of food and hunger insecurity firsthand,” the Summerville native said. “My dad would always tell us how fortunate we were to have a healthy meal, while some families go to bed hungry or rely on soup kitchens. When I donated my cabbage, I met the individuals it helped and saw that families just like mine had fallen on hard times. I realized I needed to do more.”

 

Stagliano had a simple but powerful thought: “If one cabbage can feed this many people, imagine how many an entire garden could feed.”

 

Determined to make a difference, Stagliano started a garden in her backyard and donated everything she grew. When her school recognized her efforts, they granted her a plot of land the size of a football field to expand her work.

 

Word of her mission spread, and by 2010, children from across the country were reaching out, eager to start their own gardens. That year, Katie’s Krops officially launched its first grower search, offering grants to kids aged 7 to 16 to start gardens in their own communities.

 

“When I started Katie’s Krops, I was very young, so I wanted to give other kids the same opportunity to make a difference in their community and grow alongside their gardens.”

 

More than 200 children applied, and the movement took off. Today, Katie’s Krops has over 100 youth-run gardens in 33 states and has donated more than 800,000 pounds of fresh produce to those in need.

 

“These kids are proving that age is just a number,” Stagliano said. “It doesn’t matter how young or old you are; you can make a tremendous impact in your community.”

 

Beyond its youth-run gardens, Katie’s Krops has expanded its reach in other initiatives:

 

● Katie’s Krops Dinners serves over 700 meals monthly, totaling over 100,000 meals since 2010, using fresh produce from the Flagship Garden.

 

● Katie’s Krops Outdoor Classroom offers hands-on education in gardening, nutrition, and sustainability to children and adults.

 

● Stagliano’s Flagship Garden at Crossroads Community Church, located at 505 Gahagan Road in Summerville, produces thousands of pounds of fresh food annually.

 

● A program called Monarch Meadows supports endangered pollinators, helping over 350 monarch butterflies safely emerge and migrate.

 

Now entering its 15th year, Stagliano continues to lead the organization with the same passion she had as a child, looking to inspire the next generation to take action against food insecurity.

 

“You never truly know what someone is going through until you step into their shoes, so it’s important to always offer a helping hand. I’ve learned the incredible power of youth and the difference they can make. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are; you can change the world.”

 

Katie’s Krops Springfest

To make a donation or learn more about volunteering, visit katieskrops.com.