Join us on Thursday, May 5th, for our next Katie’s Krops To-Go Dinner. The menu includes pulled pork courtesy of the Peculiar Pig Farm, baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread, and homemade desserts.
The dinner will be held at Summerville Baptist Church at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville, South Carolina. The drive-thru dinner service will start at 4:30 pm and end at 6 pm or when all meals have been served, whichever comes first. The meals are always free. Not all family members need to be in attendance to receive meals. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday.
Join us for our free Katie’s Krops Dinner on Thursday, April 28th. We will continue serving to-go meals drive-thru style. Meals distribution will start at 4:30 pm and wrap up at 6 pm, or when all meals have been distributed, whichever comes first.
The dinner will be held at Summerville Baptist, located at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville. We are truly blessed to have their support. Without their partnership, our dinners would not be possible.
On the menu: roasted chicken with gravy, tossed green salad with garden-fresh vegetables, potatoes, fresh bread, and homemade desserts.
Sad News to Share~ Seeds of Change program has been suspended
We share that we have to suspend our ‘Seeds of Change’ program with a heavy heart. Many letters with seed packets were returned when we visited our post office box today.
Before launching this year’s program, we visited our post office to determine how much postage would be needed to mail each envelope with four seeds packets included. The envelope was open, and it was clear that we were mailing seeds which we have done for three years now.
When the envelopes were returned today stating that an additional $3.72 was needed per envelope, we questioned why. Unfortunately, we are now being told that seeds must be mailed in a mailer, not an envelope, and the cost to mail will be over $4.00.
Sadly due to this development, we cannot continue the program as it has been run for three years. It is heartbreaking that we cannot honor the requests and help families across the country plant gardens this year. We simply cannot afford this massive increase in postage. We will look at new ways to continue our Seeds of Change program that does not involve mailing them directly to your home. Again, we are very sorry.
We often receive many messages on the days of our Katie’s Krops Dinner. Unfortunately, as we are busy in the kitchen preparing, boxing up, and serving 500 plus meals with a small team of volunteers, we cannot check and respond to messages on the day of the dinner. However, we hope that by sharing frequently asked questions our guests will have their questions answered.
Q.) Can I pick up meals for my family members who are not in the car with me?
A.) Yes. All family members do not need to be in the car to receive meals. We understand that high gas prices are a considerable obstacle for many families. Please feel free to carpool or pick up for your neighbors in need. All people do not need to be present to receive meals.
Q.) How can I find out when you have your dinners?
A.) There are a several ways to be informed about our dinner dates. 1.) Visit our website, https://katieskrops.com/our-dinners-meal-distributions/. 2.) Share your phone number and you will receive a call to inform you of upcoming dinners. Please send an email with your complete phone number and name to Katie@KatiesKrops.com. 3.) We place signs up at Summerville Baptist Church letting the community know we are having a dinner that week. 4.) Look for our social media posts. We always post on our Katie’s Krops page when we have a dinner.
Q.) What time do you stop serving meals?
A.) Dinner service ends when all meals have been distributed or at 6 pm, whichever comes first. Recently we have distributed all meals by 5:30 pm.
Q.) What is on the menu?
A.) We base our meals on what we have growing in our Katie’s Krops Gardens. We post on our Facebook page the menu for the upcoming dinner.
Q.) What does the meal cost?
A.) There is no charge for our dinners. Our efforts are focused on helping our neighbors in need and ensuring that no one goes hungry. Donations are always appreciated but never required.
Q.) Can you deliver?
A.) During the pandemic, we started delivering meals to people who were sick with COVID, those without transportation, and those who were unable to drive due to a medical condition. We still continue to deliver many meals. Unfortunately, we can only deliver in Summerville, and recipients need to qualify to receive deliveries. If you have any questions, please email Delivery@KatiesKrops.com.
Q.) Do I need to get out of my car to pick up meals?
A.) We distribute meals drive-thru style. There is no need to get out of your car, and for safety reasons, we ask everyone to stay in their vehicles and follow the directions of our parking lot volunteers.
We will host two Katie’s Krops Dinners in April. They will be held on:
Thursday, April 7th
Thursday, April 28th
Our dinners are served to-go and are shared drive-thru style. Dinner service starts at 4:30 pm and ends at 6 pm, or when all meals have been distributed, whichever comes first. Our dinners are held at Summerville Baptist Church, located at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville, South Carolina.
Homebound guests without transportation or medical conditions that prevent them from attending can request meal delivery. We are only able to deliver in Summerville. To request meals, please email Delivery@KatiesKrops.com with your full name, address, phone number of meals needed, and reason you are requesting delivery. Please request delivery by Tuesday, the day before the dinner.
Korbin Leddy, 18, from Stockholm, South Dakota, is a senior at Milbank High School and in his 5th year as a Katie’s Krops Grower. Korbin lives on a farm in South Dakota, and besides tending his 1/3 acre garden, he shows cattle through 4-H. Korbin will be attending South Dakota State University at Brookings, starting in the autumn of 2022, to major in Agricultural Business with a minor in Ranch Management. He has also participated in 4-H Achievement Days for the last ten years in the horticulture project area with activities such as having his produce judged for quality and uniformity.
His planting season starts in late April or early May, but before that can occur, he uses a skid steer to prepare the soil by incorporating the cattle manure and compost he has applied in late fall through late winter. This gets the soil ready for planting. He grows and harvests sweet corn, broccoli, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, beets, squash, and zucchini to donate to the Grant County food pantry and his church. Both groups distribute the fresh produce to those in need over the vast geographical area they cover.
Besides gardening and tending to his cattle, Korbin also does worm farming in bins in his basement. He has red wiggler worms that he provides vegetable scraps to and augments his soil with the organic matter produced by worms. This past year, June and July of 2021 were primarily dry, but the growing season was extended to late October after a large amount of rain fell during the fall and the weather turned colder a lot later than usual. Since Korbin lives in the central northern plains, his garden season is usually short, with spring frost ending mid-May and fall frost that can occur as early as mid-September. However, he was fortunate to have the later fall harvest this year, which produced a bumper crop.
We have exciting news to share! Despite all of the obstacles and challenges our Growers faced in 2021, we had a record-breaking year! Our youth Growers across the country donated an incredible 49,457 pounds of fresh produce to families and individuals facing hunger and food insecurity. Growing in their backyard, schools, churches, to plots in community gardens, these children are growing a better tomorrow while learning essential life skills. We are so incredibly proud!
Many things have changed since we first profiled Katie’s Krops grower, CeCe Harford of Urbana, Maryland, in April 2020 (CeCe – Maryland – Welcome to Katie’s Krops ! (katieskrops.com). Her family has moved to a new home on 2 acres of land, so she was able to give up her five community garden plots and the grow bags she used at her old home to concentrate on creating a half-acre garden in her new backyard. She also has turned fifteen and earned a $500 college scholarship by being named the Katie’s Krops 2021 Grower of the Year!
Some things haven’t changed, though. CeCe is still is passionate about helping people in her community by donating produce to the local senior center and rescue mission. During the height of the pandemic, she shared her harvest directly to people in the community who were in need and/or having difficulty finding fresh vegetables in the grocery stores due to supply chain issues. She does this because she likes helping others, meeting people, and inspiring others, such as a young family friend who is now getting into gardening as well. Hopefully, that’s a future Katie’s Krops gardener!
With the space she has at home, and with the assistance of her parents and brothers, Jaxson, 12, and Kingston, 9, CeCe grows a bountiful harvest including but not limited to tomatoes, broccoli, beans, lettuce, cucumbers, potatoes, onions, radishes, squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins, beans, squash, zucchini, and various berries. Her parents have planted fruit and citrus trees to help with her vision. She faces the same issues that other gardeners do, including those various leaf eater bugs.
Before Covid, CeCe helped teachers and the Garden Club students with the garden at her old elementary school, Centerville Elementary. Over the past few years, she was able to help with funding to revitalize the garden at the school. As a 6th grader in 2018 and using a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s, she sponsored a youth service day at the elementary school for Martin Luther King Day to encourage the students to help in the garden and thus help others.
Covid restrictions have also affected CeCe’s ability to reach out to the community to encourage other youth gardeners. Now Zoom’s speaking engagements are being done, including an upcoming presentation to 6 to 9-year-old children for which Katie’s Krops supplied t-shirts. In addition, CeCe will provide gift bags with gardening items and fun activities.
A sophomore at Urbana High School, she has many interests besides gardening, including dance (both ballet and contemporary), painting, video games, working on the stage crew and with props for high school theatrical presentations, and simply hanging out with her friends. Katie’s Krops is privileged to have such a well-rounded dedicated gardener on our team, and we wish CeCe an excellent growing season this year and always.
We will host three Katie’s Krops Dinners in March. They will be held on:
Thursday, March 3rd
Thursday, March 17th
Thursday, Mach 31st
Our dinners are served to-go and are shared drive-thru style. Dinner service starts at 4:30 pm and ends at 6 pm, or when all meals have been distributed, whichever comes first. Our dinners are held at Summerville Baptist Church, located at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville, South Carolina.
Homebound guests without transportation or medical conditions that prevent them from attending can request meal delivery. We are only able to deliver in Summerville. To request meals, please email Delivery@KatiesKrops.com with your full name, address, phone number of meals needed, and reason you are requesting delivery. Please request delivery by Tuesday, the day before the dinner.
If you have volunteered in our garden when we are amending our garden beds, you will know how much we love the BigYellowBags of soil3 compost. Our production has increased dramatically with the use of the BigYellowBags. We are so excited to partner with our friends Soil3 to bring our supporters a discount while at the same time supporting our efforts!
Soil³ Compost in BigYellowBags is on sale for $30 off through the end of February! But . . . we have an exclusive code to get you an extra $5 off. That’s $35 off every bag! Plus, Katie’s Krops earns money for every bag sold with our code.
Soil3 is OMRI Listed for certified organic gardening.
Soil3 provides enough nutrients for season-long growing. No need to apply additional fertilizer.
Another great factor is the ability of Soil3 to retain moisture in sandy soils. With four times the water retention of regular soil, drought and water restrictions will not be as damaging to gardens or lawns.
