Katie Stagliano is living proof that you are never too young to make a difference. What began with a nine-year-old girl and a cabbage seedling has become an inspiring program that grows tons of vegetables and feeds lots of people in need.
Now, other youngsters can follow her lead. Because of Katie’s success, she’s received funding from a variety of organizations and is able to offer grants to help kids ranging from ages 9 to 16 to start their own vegetable gardens.
It all started in 2008, when Katie was in third grade. She got a little seedling at school. She brought it home and carefully weeded, watered, fertilized and protected it from deer until it became an enormous 40-pound cabbage.
Feeling that the gigantic cabbage was special, Katie decided that she wanted to do something positive with it. With her parents help, she discovered an organization called Fields to Families that helps farmers get crops to organizations that feed the hungry. They suggested she donated the cabbage to Tri County Family Ministries, a local soup kitchen. She donated it to them and it helped feed more than 275 people.
“When I walked in I saw a huge line of people waiting for what might be the only meal they would have that day,” Katie writes on her website http://www.katieskrops.com.
“The people who worked there and who were eating there were so friendly and nice. As I served my cabbage to the guests and they thanked me for helping to feed them I knew I could and I should do more to help.”
So Katie decided to start not one, but many, vegetable gardens and donate her harvest to needy people. Now 13, she has numerous gardens and she wants the number to grow. Katie also wants to inspire other people to start gardens of their own to feed the needy. That’s where the grant comes in.
Any child or teenager in the 9 to 16 age range can apply for the grant, as long as they are willing to donate the food to those in need in their community. They can grow any type of vegetable garden, from a backyard container garden to a school garden. The winner will receive $400 from a local garden supply store and a digital camera to capture the garden and the harvest. Applications are due December 5, 2011, and can be found here: http://www.katieskrops.com/apply-for-a-grant.htmlh
Katie says that her dream was born the day she delivered the cabbage to Tri County Family Ministries. Her dream is that there are no hungry people.
“I want more people to get involved, more people to help in the fight against hunger,” she writes. “Growing vegetables is fun and it so great to help people. If I can do it, anyone can.”
Here are some of Katie’s words of advice for starting and feeding people from your own vegetable garden:
- It doesn’t take a huge garden — just a pot on your front porch with one vegetable plant can make a difference.
- If people (I hope lots of kids too) could grow even one vegetable plant and donate the harvest to a local soup kitchen we could make a huge difference in the fight against hunger.
This was part one of our post on Katie’s Krops. Check back next week for part two when we post our interview with Katie. Also, a heads-up, this coming Saturday, October 1st, Katie’s Krops will be featured in an episode in a new television series on ABC called Everyday Health, so you may want to check it out. We’re really looking forward to seeing it!