Monday: Weekly Family Activity–Growing a Garden to Help End Childhood Hunger

Our guest writer today is 10 year old Katie, who is sharing with us her experience of helping to end childhood hunger. She wanted to share this in hopes that you would follow in her footsteps with her fantastic ideas! Be sure to give her a warm welcome, she is an amazing young lady!

One kid can make a difference and I’m living proof. I grew a cabbage that alone helped feed 275 people and my dream was born.   My name is Katie Stagliano , I am ten years old and my dream is to make sure no kid goes to bed hungry.

 I received a cabbage plant from a third grade program with Bonnie Plants in 2008.   I planted it in a garden in the corner of my house.  Every day I would come out with the watering can and water it.  I would fertilize the cabbage and wed around it.  My family and I watched it grow massively in size.  One day our neighbors told us that deer had been seen in the neighborhood so my grandfather and I took action.  We decided to build a cage for it.  My grandfather arrived with supplies and we went to work.   At the end of the day it was done.   We had four wooden posts, one in every corner with chicken wire spread from one corner to another.  It worked.  No deer ate my cabbage or got anywhere near it.   When my cabbage was fully grown it weighed in at an amazing 40 pounds!  

I knew my cabbage was special and it needed to find a special home.  My mom contacted Fields to Families a local organization that help farmers get crops to organizations that feed the hungry to see where I could donate my cabbage.   They recommended we give my cabbage to Tri County Family Ministries, a local soup kitchen.   

In May of 2008 we brought my cabbage to Tri County Family Ministries.  When I walked in I saw a huge line of people waiting for what might be the only meal they would have that day.   The people who worked there and who were eating there were so friendly and nice.  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.

That day at Tri County Family Misnistries my dream was born.   My dream is that there are no hungry children.  I may only be 10 but I know I can do it.  I found help with my dream, first from Amazing-Kids.Org.  They held a ‘Launch My Dream’ t-shirt design contest.   I entered and out of hundred of entries I won!  My ‘No Hungry Children…All it takes is a seedling.’ T-shirt is now one sale at WWW.VERYMERI.COM.  10% of the sales will be donated to help me start gardens to feed people in need. 

But I didn’t stop there, I asked my school to help and they donated a huge plot of land for a garden.  The whole school kindergarten to 12th grade is helping and part of the harvest will be donated to feed the hungry people.  But I didn’t stop there either.  I contacted Fields to Families and asked them if they could help. Their board of directors said ‘Yes’ and I now have a Master Gardner to work with and seeds to start my gardens.  But I am not stopping there.

I want more people to get involved, more people to help in the fight against hunger.  Growing vegetables is fun and it so great to help people.  If I can do it anyone can.  It doesn’t take a huge garden just a pot on your front porch with one vegetable plant can make a difference.  If people (I hope lots of kids too) could grow even one vegetable plant and donate the harvest to a local soup kitchen we could make a huge difference in the fight against hunger.  To see how my dream grows check out my group on Facebook called ‘Launch Katie’s Dream’ and you can e-mail me at LaunchKatiesDream@Gmail.com.  Together we can make a difference all it takes is a seedling.

Tags: , , ,

Comments are closed.