Kindergarten teacher Bill Greene attended Katie’s Krops Camp this summer as the first representative from Tennessee. Bright’s Early Childhood Gardens were designated an official Katie’s Krops Garden last year, becoming the first in the state. Katie’s Krops is a non-profit organization that provides seeds and other support to help schools and individuals grow vegetables to donate to community organizations. It was started by Katie Stagliano, who grew a 40-pound cabbage and used it to feed more than 275 people in her hometown in 2008. Katie’s Krops now has 100 gardens across the country.

Greene, and his daughter, Maggie, met in Lexington, S.C., with Katie, her mother, and seven other official Katie’s Krops growers from California, New York, West Virginia and Alabama.

“The WP Rawl family has supported this camp for the last five years, and we got a chance to meet them and tour their farm and production facility. They are a massive supplier of leafy greens throughout the states. We attended several gardening classes and team-built raised beds together,” Greene said.

“We also toured Kate's flagship garden at her school, where we harvested fruits and vegetables to prepare a meal that evening for close to 200 hungry people from their community. It was an amazing all around experience. It was also the last Katie's Krops Camp since she is headed to college this fall,” he said.

Katie visited Bright last fall and helped plant seeds in the gardens. This summer, the gardens produced many vegetables that have been donated to the food pantry at Signal Mountain Social Services.

Photos from Camp