Summerville local and Founder and Chief Executive Gardener of Katie’s Krops, Katie Stagliano, has been named ‘Southerner of the Year for 2023’.
Summerville local and the Founder and Chief Executive Gardener of Katie’s Krops, Katie Stagliano, has been named as a ‘Southerner of the Year for 2023 by Southern Living Magazine. Stagliano is named one of the “trailblazers supporting and preserving our region’s people, places, and traditions.
Katie’s Krops has been working to fight hunger in the Summerville community and communities across the country for the past 15 years by growing vegetable gardens where the whole harvest is shared.
Katie started this effort when she was just nine years old. Her efforts have become a nationwide movement to empower children to grow a better tomorrow in their communities, one edible garden at a time.
“It was a wonderful surprise to be named among four amazing individuals as a Southern of the Year!” Says Stagliano, “I’m incredibly honored and grateful for everyone who has supported and empowered our Katie’s Krops Growers across the country to grow a healthy end to hunger, our wonderful volunteers and generous supporters! Working together, we can grow a better tomorrow, one vegetable garden at a time!”
Love and care for community is the heartbeat of Katie’s Krops’ mission and it stems from Katie’s love for her community.
“The Town of Summerville holds such a special place in my heart not only because it is my home but because the community has truly embraced my family and my work with Katie’s Krops, as well as helped shape me as a person.
When I was in the third grade and received my tiny cabbage seedling, I never imagined that tiny seedling would lead me down a path of service and change my life forever.
Community members cheered me on, supported me, shared their talents with me, and guided me. Local businesses hosted fundraisers and drop-off points for donations. I believed I could change the world because of their support.
From nine years old to twenty-five, the community has stood by me and my work with Katie’s Krops, providing love, support, and encouragement. The partnerships and relationships I have created hold such a special place in my heart from our flagship garden and school gardens, our Katie’s Krops Dinners, the Outdoor Classroom, and our work with Monarch Meadows.
The people of Summerville have shaped Katie’s Krops into the organization it is today and I am forever grateful. Working together in love, we have grown something so magical.” AM
About Katie’s Krops: The mission of Katie’s Krops is to empower youth to start and maintain vegetable gardens and donate the produce in need, as well as assist and inspire others to do the same. Katie’s Krops has 100+ youth-run vegetable gardens growing across the United States. Katie’s Krops also hosts free garden-to-table dinners for anyone needing a hot, healthy, and free meal. In addition, in 2021, Katie’s Krops opened an outdoor classroom to provide educational opportunities in a beautiful outdoor setting. Since Katie’s Krops began, they have grown and donated over 600,000 lbs of produce to those struggling with hunger and food insecurity, served over 100,000 hot, healthy, fresh, and free meals, and engaged over 15,000 volunteers of all ages across the United States. For more information, please visit KatiesKrops.com.
