Meet Katie Stagliano — Founder of Katie’s Krops and Grand Prize Winner of General Mills Feeding Better Futures Scholar Program
Katie Stagliano received a tiny cabbage seedling in 3rd grade which changed her life. That seedling grew to be a 40lb cabbage, which Katie donated to a local soup kitchen called Tri-County Family Ministries.
“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,” said Katie. “My one cabbage helped to feed 275 people. After seeing how many people my one cabbage helped to feed, I thought how many people can a garden feed? And that was the inspiration for me to start Katie’s Krops.”
Katie’s Krops empowers kids to create vegetable gardens in their communities. The food grown in the gardens is then donated to shelters and people in need. Katie started Katie’s Krops in May 2008 when she was only nine, but she already understood how the issue of hunger impacts many families around the United States.
“Hunger can affect anyone: your neighbor, your classmates, your friends. Many people/families are just one paycheck away from not being able to put food on their dinner table. 1 in 6 people in America face hunger. Fresh produce should not be a luxury, it should be a staple in every household.”