A Teenager's Dream to End Hunger

One day in 2008, Katie Stagliano of Summerville, South Carolina received a cabbage seedling as part of the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program. The student who grows the best crop wins a $1,000 scholarship award. Katie planted her seedling in her family's backyard garden. Under her care, the cabbage grew... and kept growing... until it reached an astonishing weight of 40 pounds.

Katie says she treated it like all the other plants in their garden, but somehow it got so much bigger. After winning the contest, the young gardener wondered what to do with the cabbage. It was too large for her own family of four or third grade class, and would only go to waste if they attempted to eat it themselves.

Then, Katie remembered what her father always told her – don't waste food because there are people out there who aren't fortunate enough to have any. Therefore, she decided to donate her cabbage to the hungry. After consulting anti-hunger non-profit organization Fields to Families, Katie and her mom, Stacy, handed the hefty harvest over to the soup kitchen at Tricounty Family Ministries.

CEO Sue Hanshaw insisted that Katie took part in cooking and serving her donation, which she did. The cabbage helped feed over 275 people, and that experience inspired Katie to do more.

Stacy says Katie said to her, “Mommy, if one cabbage could do this, imagine what an entire garden could do.”

Hence, Katie's Krops was born. Now 13, Katie oversees six vegetable gardens in South Carolina, including one donate by her school and tended by the whole student body. Additionally, Katie's Krops operates 11 grant-funded plots in other states. So far, the organization has delivered over a ton of fresh crops to those in need. Katie plans to have at least one garden in every US state in the future.