Join us for our February Katie’s Krops Dinners on:
Thursday, February 3rd, and Thursday, February 17th
Our dinners are served to-go style at Summerville Baptist Church located at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville, South Carolina. Dinner service starts at 4:30 pm and ends at 6 pm, or when all meals have been served, whichever comes first. There is never a charge for the dinner. All family members do not need to be in attendance to receive meals.
Families and individuals who are ill and in quarantine in Summerville can request meal deliveries for our dinner by emailing Katie@KatiesKrops.com. Please share a full address, phone number, and the number of meals needed in your email. We will do our very best to honor all requests.
Unfortunately, South Carolina ranks #1 in growth in COVID cases over the last two weeks. To help our neighbors in need, we plan to deliver 300+ free garden-to-table meals next week to quarantined families as part of our Katie’s Krops Dinner. Families who are ill and in quarantine in Summerville can request meal deliveries for our January 20th dinner by emailing Katie@KatiesKrops.com. Please share a full address, phone number, and the number of meals needed. We will do our very best to honor all requests.
Our 2021 Katie’s Krops Growers have done an outstanding job serving their communities in these difficult times. We are thrilled to recognize the Growers who have gone above and beyond this year. Congratulations to all. We are exceeding proud of you.
Katie’s Krops Grower of the Year-Cece Hartford
We are thrilled to announce Cece Hartford of Maryland as our 2021 Grower of the Year! Cece, 15, has been growing with Katie’s Krops for six years and has been a true leader during her tenure. Her efforts started at her home, expanded to a community garden, and then launched a large garden at her school. Gardening has been a family affair for the Hartford family. Her mom, dad, and brothers have grown with her and supported her efforts. Cece continually seeks new ways to expand her efforts, and we are so proud of her! We are honored to award Cece a scholarship for her higher education.
Rookie of the Year- Clayson Thayer
Our Rookie of the Year is Clayson Thayer! Clayson is 8 years old from Nevada. He has done a fantastic job. In his first year as a Katie’s Krops Grower, he grew over 350 lbs of produce! Clayson is already planning next year’s garden and how he can improve. We are so excited to see what next year brings!
Spirit Award- Toni and Austin Carr
Our Spirit Award goes to Toni and Austin Carr! Toni and Austin are 7 and 9 and from Ohio. In their first year as Katie’s Krops Growers, they have shown us how excited they are to make a difference in their community! Their creativity and enthusiasm are infectious, and we are so excited for them to continue to grow with us for years to come.
Leadership Award – Katie Rudins
Our Leadership Award goes to Katie Rudins! Katie is 16 from North Carolina. Katie truly embodies what it means to be a leader. Her garden is located at the Horizons at Carolina Day School and empowers 60 youth between the ages of 5-9 to learn about gardening, healthy eating, caring for the environment, and helping their neighbors in need! We are so proud of Katie!
Extra Mile Award- Alsyon Hanna
Our Extra Mile Award goes to Alyson Hanna. Alyson is 10 from South Carolina. Alyson continues to go the extra mile to make sure those in her community have access to healthy, fresh produce. When Alyson learned that a local farmer was going to plow under his entire field full of corn and watermelon, she knew she needed to step up. Along with her mom and her friend, she gleaned the entire field, gathering hundreds of pounds of produce to share with those struggling in her community. Way to go the extra mile Alyson!
Community Hero Award- Collin Howard
Our Community Hero Award goes to Collin Howard! Collin is 10, and he is from South Carolina. Collin is an incredibly hard worker and was always hungry for new knowledge to ensure that could have the best harvest and help as many people as possible! He went as far as drying his basil to prepare meals for those struggling in his community. Keep up the fantastic work Collin, we are so proud!
Green Thumb Award – Archer Ward
Our Green Thumb Award goes to Archer Ward. Archer is 10 and from Utah, and he certainly has a green thumb! Archer has won numerous awards for his beautiful crops, including a prize-winning turnip and cauliflower. We love seeing all of the amazing things he grows and shares with those in need in his community! Thank you for sharing your talents with your community Archer!
The Katie’s Krops Shopping Guide~ Support the businesses that help us grow
The holidays are right around the corner, and if you’re looking for the perfect gift, you’re Krops has you covered! Here is our guide to holiday shopping, featuring our favorite businesses that help us continue to grow!
~ Our friends at Bonnie Plants have amazing herbs and veggies. Who knows, you just might grow a 40 lb cabbage!~ Womanswork gardening gloves make the perfect stocking stuffer.
~ Park Seed makes the perfect gift for the home gardener in your life.
We are so grateful to all of these fantastic small businesses and companies who have supported us and our efforts to fight hunger throughout the year! Please consider supporting them with your holiday shopping
During the month of October at Accent on Wine at Whitehall, we will celebrate their 1st-anniversary by “Pouring it Forward” to honor and support Katie’s Krops. Enjoy a designated red or white wine by the glass for the month of October in which a portion of proceeds benefits Katie’s Krops. In addition on Saturday, October 23rd they will host an anniversary party that benefits Katie’s Krops! More details to come on this event but we would love for you to save the date! Accent on Wine Whitehall is located at 5401 Netherby Lane Suite 1003, North Charleston, South Carolina.
11th Anniversary of the Katie’s Krops Dinner – October 14th
On October 14th, we will celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Katie’s Krops Dinner! It has been the most fantastic journey that started when I was in middle school and the only full-time soup kitchen in Summerville I supporting shuttered. Never could I have imagined that day in middle school what I would be creating and the number of people we would help feed in our community.
In those 11 years, I have graduated high school, graduated college, faced a pandemic, created a second family who I adore of the people who attend the dinners, filmed a segment for Disney Channel and a feature-length documentary The Starfish Throwers highlighting our work at the dinners, had the honor of working with the most amazing chefs who want to give back to the community, and have been blessed to have the very best volunteers by my side. None of this would have been possible without the support of our partners at Summerville Baptist, who believed a decade ago that a small group of children could change the world one meal at a time.
This year there will be no big outward celebration as we are stretched very thin meeting the current need of our community but please know I am celebrating in my heart. Thank you for your support, your kindness, and for believing in me for 11 years.
Come out and join us on Thursday, October 11th at 4:30 for our to-go anniversary dinner at Summerville Baptist Church at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville. The menu is meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, tossed green salad, fresh bread, and desserts. If you are ill, in quarantine, or do not have transportation and reside in Summerville, we will make every effort to deliver meals to you. Please email Katie@KatiesKrops.com by Tuesday, October 12th, with your full name, complete address, phone number, and the number of meals needed.
The 2022 Katie’s Krops Grower Search is Officially Open!
We are excited to expand our growing family! Children ages seven to sixteen who reside in the United States are eligible to apply to start a Katie’s Krops Garden in their community, where the whole harvest is shared to help neighbors struggling with hunger and food insecurity.
Youth selected as Katie’sKatie’s Krops Grower in 2022 will be awarded an all-inclusive grower kit. This kit will include items necessary to start their garden. Starting a Katie’s Krops Garden is so much more than just receiving the tools to start a garden. Youth selected as Katie’s Krops Growers are empowered to grow a healthy end to hunger in their community and positively impacting the health of their cities and towns. Growers are eligible for scholarships and support from our sponsors.
In the past nineteen months, we have expanded our efforts to meet the needs of our communities. The biggest challenge was growing with a greatly reduced volunteer base. To say we are exhausted is an understatement. But we are also incredibly proud of what we have accomplished and what we continue to achieve every day. We are so blessed to have amazing supporters and volunteers who work tirelessly to feed our community. We would be honored to have your support to continue our efforts. We are sharing a list of our current needs. We hope we can find the support to grow, educate, and support. Thank you~
– For our Katie’s Krops Dinners, we need canned corn, stuffing mix, divided to-go boxes, ranch salad dressing, chickpeas, ketchup, kidney beans, Worcestershire sauce, pepper.
We desperately need help! Sadly we have hit a major obstacle in planting our fall crops in our flagship garden. An animal has started to dig up our garden bed in two sections of our flagship garden. We need to protect our garden beds before we can start planting our fall/winter garden. We have found covers that we feel that will protect the garden beds and our crops. We need to find volunteers to build the covers before we can start planting. If we can find ten volunteers to build two to three covers, we will be able to start planting our fall garden. I cannot stress how important this is and the time crunch we are under. We desperately need to get plants and seeds in the ground. More people than ever depend on our efforts.
Here is an example of what we are trying to build:
If you or someone your know can help build one or two of these covers, we will be extremely grateful! They can be built onsite or offsite. Again, we are at a complete standstill until we can install covers on our beds or risk losing our fall garden. We can be reached at Stacy@KatiesKrops.com or 843-327-3366. Thank you!
