Katie's Krops, a local nonprofit that empowers youth to grow a healthy end to hunger, one vegetable garden at a time, is celebrating its 14th year of serving wholesome, fresh, and free meals to the community. The anniversary dinner will be held on Thursday, October 17th, at 4 pm at Summerville Baptist Church.
"The Katie's Krops Dinners began in 2010 after the only full-time soup kitchen in the Summerville area shut its doors due to lack of funding, and I knew we needed to step up to help our neighbors in need," said Founder & Chief Executive Gardener Katie Stagliano. "When I was in middle school, we began utilizing the produce from our gardens, purchasing what we could not grow, and our youth volunteers came together to create healthy and free meals for the community.
It has been 14 years since that first dinner, and I am proud to say that our incredible youth volunteers have served over 100,000 meals! We have also delivered thousands of meals to our neighbors struggling with illness and without transportation. Katie's Krops Dinners are not only fresh and free meals, but they have created a community where we care for and empower one another during times of need.
I am so proud of our incredible team of volunteers and delivery drivers. I am so grateful to Summerville Baptist Church for their partnership and for sharing their campus with us."
Over 10,000 pounds of fresh produce from Katie's Krops gardens have been used to create each Katie's Krops Dinner, which has also generated over 14,000 youth service hours since its inception. When the dinners started, they were sit-down dinners. Since COVID, meals are now served in a drive-thru style distribution. Currently, over 700 meals are shared at each dinner, preventing us from returning to a sit-down dinner due to the large number of guests.
Friends, neighbors, and family members often come to pick up meals for others who cannot attend the dinners even though they may not need meals themselves. Connections are formed between attendees and volunteers that change lives. Katie's Krops works closely with Captain Joli Tumbleston of the Berkley County Sheriff's Department and Corporal Jonathan James of the Summerville Police Department to ensure the safety of guests and volunteers to deliver meals to local shelters and homeless encampments. At the August dinner, two guests walked a great distance to attend a Katie's Krops dinner at Summerville Baptist Church.
When they arrived, they immediately sat down, exhausted. Captain Tumbleston and Corporal James engaged them and quickly learned the gentleman was dealing with medical issues and that the couple was facing significant challenges. Walking back to where they were staying would be a hardship. Captain Tumbleson immediately called for a ride so they could return home with their meals and food for the coming days. They talked about their needs, and Captin Tumbleston shared community resources with them and collected their shoe sizes after noticing holes in their shoes for a return visit the following day.
Katie's Krops continued to provide food to the family, and one of our volunteers provided shoes and clothing. Captin Tumbleston picked up the items and continued to engage the couple and learned they had a young child. Their living situation was not safe, so with Captin Tumbleston's assistance they were placed in a hotel for 30 days until they could secure housing.
For more information, visit katieskrops.com.
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