Katie's Krops: How Your Seed Purchase Fights Hunger
The nine-year-old who started Katie's Krops didn't set out to build a national youth gardening movement. Katie Stagliano just wanted to know what would happen if she planted a cabbage seedling from her third-grade class.
That cabbage grew to 40 pounds. She donated it to a soup kitchen that served 275 people. And she couldn't stop thinking about how many people don't have enough to eat.
From One Garden to Hundreds
That was 2008. Katie started her first giving garden the next year. Then she helped other kids start theirs. Today, there are over 100 Katie's Krops gardens in 35 states, all run by young people growing food for their communities.
The model is simple: kids ages 9-16 apply for a garden grant, plan what to grow, do the work, and donate everything they harvest to hunger relief organizations in their area. No adult takeovers. No symbolic participation. These are real gardens producing real food.
Katie learned early on that food banks had plenty of canned goods and boxed meals. What they didn't have was fresh vegetables. What people needed most was exactly what gardens produced best.
Since founding Katie's Krops, these youth-led gardens have distributed more than 750,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to soup kitchens, food banks, and families struggling with hunger!
The Park Seed Partnership
Since 2015, Park Seed has supported Katie's mission by donating a portion of proceeds from select vegetable varieties directly to Katie's Krops. To date, we've contributed over $36,000.
Here's how it works: Look for the Katie's Krops symbol on vegetable seed packets in our catalog and on our website. When you purchase those seeds, part of what you pay goes to Katie's Krops to fund:
- Grants for young growers to start new gardens (typically $500-$1,000 per garden)
- Seeds and supplies for existing gardens
- Educational resources teaching kids to garden and donate effectively
- Mentorship and support connecting young growers to experienced gardeners and food bank managers
Your $2.95 packet of carrot seeds contributes to something bigger than your backyard. It helps fund a movement of kids growing food for people who need it.
What Your Purchase Supports
Katie's Krops accepts applications from youth ages 7-17 to start gardens. Accepted growers receive grants, seeds from Park Seed and other donors, and connection to a network of young gardeners doing the same work.
These aren't token projects. The kids plan the gardens, source additional resources, recruit volunteers, manage the growing season, harvest the produce, and coordinate donations to local food banks and soup kitchens.
Katie's Krops gardens:
- Distribute thousands of pounds of fresh vegetables to families in need each year
- Operate in communities across multiple states
- Train young people in gardening, leadership, and community service
- Provide fresh produce to families facing food insecurity
Every one of those pounds of donated tomatoes, beans, squash, and greens starts with seeds. Many of those seeds come from Park Seed customers who choose varieties marked with the Katie's Krops symbol.
Why We Support Youth-Led Gardens
Park Seed has been in business since 1868. For more than 150 years, we've believed that gardens change lives.We've seen it in our test gardens, where crops improve year after year through careful selection and breeding. We've seen it in customer letters describing how a vegetable garden fed their family through hard times. We've seen it in the way gardening connects people to nature, to each other, and to their own capability.
Katie's Krops embodies what we've always believed: seeds aren't just seeds. They're potential. Plant them, tend them, and they become food. But they also become community, connection, purpose, and proof that you can create change.
Supporting Katie's Krops isn't charity for us. It's alignment with our values. We supply quality seeds to gardeners who want to grow food. Some of those gardeners happen to be 12 years old and donating everything they grow to hungry families.
That deserves support.
The Impact Beyond Produce
Fresh food makes a real difference to families who need it.
But the impact goes beyond the harvest. Young Katie's Krops growers learn skills they'll carry for life: how to manage a project, solve problems, organize their community, and lead. They discover they can take on real challenges and make a tangible difference where they live.
There's something different about receiving vegetables from a kid who grew them just to give them away. It's not the same as picking up a box from an anonymous donor.
Volunteers who help in Katie's Krops gardens often start their own afterward. They catch the gardening bug. Some go on to support other causes. The ripple effects keep spreading.
One cabbage fed 275 people and started all of this. Now gardens across the country are feeding families in need, and the movement keeps growing.
How to Get Involved with Katie's Krops
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Shop Katie's Krops Seeds: Look for varieties marked with the Katie's Krops symbol in our seed collection. Choose the ones suited to your growing conditions. A portion of your purchase goes directly to supporting young growers. |
Grow Your Own Giving Garden: You don't need to be part of Katie's Krops to donate produce. Plant extra rows in your garden this season. Contact your local food bank about donating the harvest. Every pound helps.
Start a Katie's Krops Garden: If you know a young person (ages 7-17) interested in growing food for their community, applications typically open in late fall. Visit katieskrops.com for details and application dates.
Share the Mission: Tell other gardeners about Katie's Krops. Share on social media. Mention it at your community garden. The more people know about youth gardens fighting hunger, the more support the movement receives.
Seeds That Fight Hunger
When you shop for seeds this season, look for the Katie's Krops symbol. It marks varieties where your purchase helps support young growers who are planting gardens to feed their communities.
These are the same tested, reliable seeds we've offered for decades—varieties that thrive in home gardens. The difference is what happens beyond your own garden. Your purchase helps fund kids who are growing food specifically to donate to families in need.
It's a simple way to extend the impact of your gardening season.
Shop Katie's Krops Seeds Now
Learn more about how youth gardens combat food insecurity, skills young growers develop, or which vegetables work best for donation.