{"id":2401,"date":"2025-07-23T10:54:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T10:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/?p=2401"},"modified":"2025-07-23T10:54:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T10:54:11","slug":"katie-stagliano-the-girl-who-grew-a-giant-cabbage-and-inspired-a-national-youth-movement-to-fight-hunger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/katie-stagliano-the-girl-who-grew-a-giant-cabbage-and-inspired-a-national-youth-movement-to-fight-hunger\/","title":{"rendered":"Katie Stagliano: The Girl Who Grew a Giant Cabbage\u2014and Inspired a National Youth Movement to Fight Hunger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At just nine years old<\/strong>, Katie Stagliano\u2019s 40-pound cabbage\u2014a result of a third-grade project\u2014fed 275 people<\/strong> at a local soup kitchen in Summerville, South Carolina. That moment sparked a profound realization: if one cabbage could do so much, what could a whole garden achieve? That seedling became the foundation for Katie\u2019s Krops<\/strong>, a nationwide nonprofit empowering youth to grow gardens that feed communities in need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Seedling to Movement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  • Started in 2008<\/strong> as a backyard project, Katie\u2019s Krops was officially founded in 2009. By age 15, Katie had expanded to 100 youth-led gardens across 30 states<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Youth gardeners aged 7 to 16<\/strong> apply to join the program by proposing where they\u2019ll garden, what they\u2019ll grow, and where the produce will be donated. Approved growers receive starter kits\u2014including seeds, tools, and resources.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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    Community Gardens & Meal Distributions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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    • The flagship garden spans 17,000 square feet<\/strong> and includes raised beds and fruit trees growing crops like collards, snow peas, Swiss chard, and apples.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Starting as sit-down community meals, Katie\u2019s Krops served 200 dinners a month<\/strong> pre-pandemic; during COVID, the service expanded to 600 meals per week<\/strong> via drive-through pickup.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • As of 2023<\/strong>, the program had distributed over 600,000 lbs of produce<\/strong>, served more than 105,000 fresh meals<\/strong>, and engaged over 15,000 volunteers nationwide<\/strong>. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n

      Recognition & Awards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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      • Awarded the Grand Prize of the General Mills Feeding Better Futures Scholar Program<\/strong> in 2018, receiving $50,000<\/strong> to expand her nonprofit and presenting at the Aspen Ideas Festival<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Named \u201cSoutherner of the Year 2023\u201d<\/em> by Southern Living<\/strong>, recognized as a trailblazer in regional community support and sustainable agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Honored by UC Global Food Initiative\u2019s 30 Under 30<\/strong> and recognized as one of the youngest recipients of the Clinton Global Citizen Award<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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        Background, Education & Leadership<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        • Katie graduated from the College of Charleston<\/strong> in 2020 with a degree in Communications<\/strong> and a minor in Leadership, Change, and Social Responsibility<\/strong>. She now works full-time at Katie\u2019s Krops alongside her mother, Stacy Stagliano<\/strong>, who serves as president. Her younger brother also runs his own nonprofit supporting families transitioning out of homelessness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Today, Katie holds the title Chief Executive Gardener<\/strong>, overseeing program growth, youth engagement, outdoor classes, and weekly meal distributions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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          Vision & Philosophy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          Katie believes youth service is powerful<\/strong>: “Youth gardens are more than produce\u2014they cultivate leadership, community, and hope.” She frames frustration with hunger as opportunity, empowering young growers to be agents of change.
          Her nonprofit emphasizes education<\/strong>\u2014kids learn about agriculture, nutrition, budgeting, and community while growing food and friendships in an outdoor classroom setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n\n\n\n

          Impact Snapshot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
          Milestone<\/strong><\/th>Impact<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
          Gardens Nationwide<\/td>100+ youth-led gardens across 30 states<\/td><\/tr>
          Produce Donated<\/td>600,000+ lbs fed to people in need<\/td><\/tr>
          Meals Served<\/td>105,000+ hot meals via distributions<\/td><\/tr>
          Volunteer Engagement<\/td>15,000+ volunteers of all ages<\/td><\/tr>
          Recognition Awards<\/td>General Mills Scholar, Clinton Award, UC 30 Under 30, Southern Living Southerner<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
          \n\n\n\n

          Legacy & What\u2019s Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

          From a backyard cabbage to a national nonprofit, Katie Stagliano demonstrates that a single action\u2014no matter how small\u2014can grow into something transformative<\/strong>. Her vision remains clear: empowering kids to grow gardens, serve others, and lead with compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Katie continues to expand Katie\u2019s Krops through school gardens, grants, National Geographic-supported growth, and future plans to reach every U.S. state. The movement stands as proof: youth-led action can tackle hunger one garden at a time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          At just nine years old, Katie Stagliano\u2019s 40-pound cabbage\u2014a result of a third-grade project\u2014fed 275 people at a local soup kitchen in Summerville, South Carolina. That moment sparked a profound realization: if one cabbage could do so much, what could a whole garden achieve? That seedling became the foundation for Katie\u2019s Krops, a nationwide nonprofit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[98,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activists-humanitarians","category-health-wellness-advocates"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2403,"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2401\/revisions\/2403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/votters.com\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}