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Boys & Girls Club Gardening Project | Troy-Bilt
Boys & Girls Club Gardening Project | Troy-Bilt
Troy-Bilt® was founded on a passion for gardening. Now we’ve partnered with Katie’s Krops to inspire the next generation of gardeners and feed people in their community. We worked with Téa and Tina at the Boys & Girls Club to help them break ground on a garden that will feed the kids and families who attend the club.
Help support Katie’s Krops from now until June 30 at your local BI-LO or Winn-Dixie!!
We are honored to have the continued support of BI-LO SuperSaver and Winn-Dixie! Head to your local BI-LO or Winn Dixie store and purchase small red delicious apples and small navel oranges. BI-LO & Winn Dixie will donate 5 cents of every dollar from the purchase of the apples to help Katie’s Krops grow!
Speaking Requests
Touring the country speaking about her dream and youth service has earned Katie the “The Stellar Speaker designation”. To inquire about having 17-year-old Katie speak at your event, or to your organization and about associated speaking fees, please e-mail Stacy@KatiesKrops.com. Due to her high school schedule dates are limited.
Calendar
Katie’s Krops dinner at Summerville Baptist
The Katie’s Krops Camp
The Katie’s Krops Camp is an immersive growing experience for our young Katie’s Krops Growers from across the country. Once a year, over the summer, upwards of 10 young Katie’s Krops growers are invited to travel to South Carolina and the farm of WP Rawl, our camp sponsor. WP Rawl is a family-owned and operated farm that specializes in leafy greens and other seasonal vegetables across the United States such as Nature’s Greens® and Versatile Veggies®. Their generosity makes this all-expenses-paid camp possible. There is no charge for the campers or the chaperones.
During the course of the camp, our growers come together and learn new and creative growing techniques, host a service project, create lasting friendships with fellow growers, receive valuable information on food safety, tour the impressive Rawl farm and so much more.
It has always been Katie’s dream to create a sustainable solution to hunger by creating a young family of growers. This camp is an opportunity to bring the Katie’s Krops growers together, to learn new skills, to make new friends and grow the dream that is Katie’s Krops.
The 2016 Katie’s Krops Camp will be held June 27th to June 29th. Katie’s Krops Camp is exclusively for our young Katie’s Krops growers and is not open to the general public. To become a Katie’s Krops Grower you must apply for a grant from Katie’s Krops. Our next grant cycle will open in October of 2016 for the 2017 growing season.
Thank you to our wonderful friends at WP Rawl for making this camp possible!
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A Guest Blog from our Grantee Terrence in Illinois
So far so good. I thought this would be something that was easy. But much to
my surprise it was hard and easy. The items we chose to grow were,
strawberries, greens, tomatoes, brocollie, cauliflower, cucumbers, egg plant,
squash, celery, mint tea, cabbage and okra. When the project got started I told
as many people I could think of. Among the helpers were my mom, dad, sisters,
aunts, uncles and some close friends. So far I have learned the importance of
being consistent with maintaining the garden. I did not know that there were so
many people who liked to garden and eat things that they grew themselves. My
mom has especially been a big help. She gives me some of her growing tips which
have helped as well. While setting up the garden my mom suggested that we try
to make some rain barrels to conserve water. We had talked about it before we
got started but I was not to interested at first. But when my dad said he would
help me make them, we started and I have not stopped yet. Now we have barrels
that equal up to about 160 gallons of water so far. The other thing that was
great is that I did a little looking around on the internet and ordered insects
that would help to take care of the pest problem so the fruits and vegetables
were good.
From Farm to Table: How One Teen’s Garden Is Feeding Hundreds of Hungry Families
Katie Stagliano never imagined that the 40-pound cabbage she grew for a school contest would have planted the start of an inspiring non-profit that’s stamping out hunger one vegetable garden at a time.
By Sharon Tanenbaum
Katie Stagliano caught the gardening bug early, thanks to her family’s garden in their backyard of their Summerville, S.C., home.
"It wasn’t that much. It was like a few tomato plants, a pepper plant, and a lettuce," Katie says of her "salad garden."
Of course it may not seem like much now to this ambitious seventh grader, who turned her passion for planting and picking into a thriving non-profit organization that manages nearly 20 gardens to help to feed the homeless and hungry through local shelters and soup kitchens. The group, Katie’s Krops is featured on the next episode of Everyday Health airing October 1 or 2 on your local ABC station.
And it all got started with a not-so-small cabbage.
Planting the Seed of Change — Literally
When Katie, now 13, was in third grade, her school participated in the Bonnie Plants’ Third Grade Cabbage Program, which provides students with cabbage plants to grow to win a $1,000 scholarship (and bragging rights, natch).
"We planted it and treated it like every other plant in the garden," Katie recalls. "But it ended up growing to be so much bigger than every other plant."
In fact, the cabbage (an O.S. Cross variety, known for producing giant heads) ultimately weighed in at a staggering 40 pounds — and won Katie the contest.
But after the initial cheers and congratulations, there was the question of what exactly to do with a 40-pound cabbage plant. After all, serving it to Katie’s own family of four — or even her classroom — would result in a waste of perfectly good and wholesome food.
That’s when Katie had her light bulb moment.
"My dad had always told us not to waste because there are people out there that weren’t fortunate enough to have a hot meal on their table every night," Katie says. "So I thought, why not donate my cabbage to those people."
For her mom, Stacy Stagliano, the moment was a proud one. "She grew so attached to that cabbage," Stacy remembers. "As it grew bigger and bigger it was like her little baby almost."
To find the perfect home for her cabbage, Stacy searched online for "vegetable donation" and discovered Tri-County Family Ministries in North Charleston, S.C. Katie vividly remembers the day she and her mom went to deliver the massive vegetable. When they pulled up to the kitchen at the shelter, hundreds of people stood in line waiting to get in.
"Katie’s jaw just dropped and she was asking a million questions like, ‘Is this really the only meal they get?’" Stacy says. "When we took the cabbage out, all these people came over asking where it came from and if Katie really grew it."
After the pair brought the cabbage inside to the kitchen, Sue Hanshaw, the CEO of the shelter, insisted that Katie help cook up her bounty. "She told Katie that it wasn’t enough to just donate it. She had to help cook and serve it," Stacy says.
And so Katie did. She stood on a wooden stool for more than two hours as 275 people enjoyed the, uh, vegetable of her labor.
And that night, the idea for Katie’s Krops was born. "Katie said to me, "Mommy, if one cabbage could do this, imagine what an entire garden could do," Stacy says.
Nurturing Katie’s Krops
To help cultivate her vision, Katie convinced her school to donate a plot of land for the garden, which the entire student body helped tend. Now Katie helps manage six gardens in South Carolina. They have delivered more than a ton of produce to shelters, soup kitchens, and families in need. Katie’s Krops also has 11 grant-funded gardens in other states, including New Jersey, Virginia, and Georgia.
"Looking back on that now, never ever did I imagine that this is where I would be," Stacy says. "That’s the thing with kids. They see the possibilities, they don’t see the obstacles. If there’s good reason to do it, that’s enough."
Watch this video about Katie’s cabbage.
A Budding Chef
Katie not only grows vegetables, she loves to cook them too. "We base my menus for the shelters on what’s growing in the garden," Katie says. For St. Patrick’s Day, she and her family made corned beef and fresh-from-the-garden cabbage. One of her favorite new finds from the garden is the Japanese eggplant, which Katie describes as a "purple banana."
"We just bread it and fry it," Katie says. "It’s super simple to make." Find more of Katie’s favorite veggie-packed recipes on KatiesKrops.com.
Katie demonstrated her culinary skills in the Everyday Health episode, in which she teamed up with chef and nutritionist Ellie Krieger, RD, to cook a dinner of healthy food for local families in need. Using plenty of the garden’s colorful bounty, Katie, Krieger and team whipped up a pot of ratatouille. "This is one of those recipes that anyone can make and make on a busy weeknight for that matter," Krieger says.
Helping Other Kids Get Growing
Katie hopes to inspire as many of her peers to play outside in the dirt and grow their own gardens.
For beginners, it’s important to not get too ahead of themselves. "Start small especially if you haven’t gardened before," Katie advises. She recommends beginning with easy-to-grow plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.
"Once you get the hang of it, it’ll be easier," she insists.
The bigger goal, however, is to inspire kids to feed families in need in their communities, and Katie created a grant program to help other kids achieve that mission. Winners receive a gift card to a local garden center along with support from Katie’s Krops and a digital camera to follow their progress. Find out more and fill out an application on KatiesKrops.com.
To see Katie in action in the garden and the kitchen, tune in to Everyday Health, hosted by Laila Ali, on October 1 or 2 on your local ABC station.
The Impact of a Wonderful Teacher!
When you start a new school year, it is like a new adventure. Who will your teachers be? Who will be in your classes? Will you make new friends? As I enter the last month of my 6th grade year I can look back and on those questions and say, my 6th grade year has been wonderful in large part due to a teacher, a friend, who has become a large part of the Katie’s Krops family. Her name is Miss Fuller and she is my 6th grade science teacher.
Having a science teacher that is an excellent teacher is wonderful but nothing can compare to a teacher who supports you, believes in you and your dreams and guides you. Before I even set a foot in her classroom, Miss Fuller was eager to help. Over the summer, she met with me to find out how she could help and support the garden. Little did I know then, the garden would become our text book and our classroom.
We began the school year with a unit on soil, a perfect introduction to the garden. We started off testing soil for ‘real life applications’ (we would be planting in the soil we tested & the harvest would be donated to those in need in our community) and making trips to the garden to work. As we worked together ideas started to grow and before we knew it the entire 6th grade was undertaking a huge school & community wide composting project to help boost the harvest from the gardens by improving the soil with compost, the waste the school would normally toss in the trash.
That was only the beginning. Just like my gardens, it grew into so much more. It turned into unforgettable experiences.
Who would have ever thought that you would ride in a cop car or chip old Christmas trees with your science teacher? Well that’s exactly what we did. We collected 58 Christmas trees to compost for the gardens. To compost the trees, we needed to chip them. We called a parent at the school with a tree removal business and asked if he could come help us chip 58 trees. Everything was set in place and a couple days before the trees were to be chipped, we noticed the pile had shrunk. We had rearranged the trees to count them; maybe that’s why they looked different. Then we counted them, 39. WHAT??? Where had all our trees gone??? That was it; Miss Fuller and I called the cops. When they finally arrived they looked at us like “What? You called us over here because someone stole Christmas trees, after Christmas?” Most teachers would have looked at me like “Seriously? You want to call the police about stolen Christmas trees?” But not Miss Fuller, she believed in me and said, “We are calling.” Miss Fuller showed me that there is value in your hard work and you should not let anyone take anything from you (no matter how obscure). It was Miss Fuller’s and my first (& last!!!) ride in a cop car. It really brought out the investigators in us. Finally it was time to chip the 39 trees into mulch, with wax earplugs in we watched our collection of trees, minus the stolen ones, sucked into the giant wood chipper. Another first for both of us.
When I learned that our local homeless shelter that had been closed for months would be opening to serve dinners if someone would provide, cook and serve the meal I immediately signed up. Who was right there with me to organize the dinners, Miss Fuller. Since our first dinner in October we have worked together to provide healthy well balance meals to families in need in our community.
Our science classroom became a greenhouse this year and at times even a film studio. Miss Fuller was there to support, encourage and believe in my dream to providing healthy fresh food to people who are in need.
Miss Fuller has taught me that when someone believes in you, believes in your dreams, there is nothing you can’t do. I hope everyone has a teacher like Miss Fuller sometime in their life because everyone deserves a teacher as great as she is.
Only you can change your life! Don’t wait for the perfect moment, make every moment perfect!
Only you can change your life! Don’t wait for the perfect moment, make every moment perfect!
I read this on a posting on Facebook yesterday and I thought truer words were never spoken. You can sit around and say “When this happens” and “If this happens”, but only you can make it happen. If you have a dream don’t wait to for that perfect moment to start achieving it, you need to make the moment happen. This quote is for anyone who is uncertain if they can do something, you can! It doesn’t matter how young you are there is nothing you can’t do when you try.
Yesterday I went to see the Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never Movie. It was really inspirational! It showed that fame is not just awarded to you; you have to work for it. Justin worked extremely hard to get where he is. I was inspired how he had a goal and a dream. After a visit to Madison Square Garden he decided his goal was, one year from that day, to sell out a concert there. He did not wait for the perfect moment to start working towards his dream. He worked hard from the start and in one year, Justin Bieber achieved his goal and sold out Madison Square Garden in less than half an hour.
So what is your dream? That perfect moment is now. What are you going to do to make it happen? A year from now I would love to be able to re-post this blog and change the paragraph about Justin Bieber to a paragraph about you! Only you can change your life! Don’t wait for the perfect moment, make every moment perfect!