Summerville Girl Honored for Anti-Hunger Efforts

Katie Stagliano of Summerville became the youngest recipient of President Bill Clinton's Global Citizen Awards.

At 14 years old, Katie is the founder and "chief executive gardener" of Katie's Crops, which fights hunger by starting and maintaining vegetable gardens and donating the harvest to people in need. She was one of three recognized for leadership in civil society.

The announcement was made Monday during the sixth annual ceremony in New York City. The Clinton Global Citizen Awards recognizes individuals from various sectors who demonstrate visionary leadership in addressing  global challenges. 

The show aired on Hulu.com. Click here to watch Monday night's awards ceremony. Watch attached video to see Katie featured on Great American Heroes. 

Actress Bebe Neuwirth emceed the show that featured performances from Grammy Award-winning singer Seal, slam poet Joshua Bennett, Grammy Award–winning Beninoise recording artist Angélique Kidjo, and Somali-Canadian rapper K’NAAN. Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, Lt. Governor of California Gavin Newsom, Matt Damon, Rosario Dawson, Donna Karan, Eva Longoria, and June Sarpong also made appearances in honor of the recipients.

Stagliano’s dream to end hunger one vegetable garden at a time began when she grew a 40-pound cabbage in third grade. She donated the cabbage to a soup kitchen, where it fed 275 people. Katie’s Krops currently maintains 51 kid-run vegetable gardens in 21 states, which are producing thousands of pounds of healthy food for families in need. Utilizing her harvest, Stagliano also runs a soup kitchen to provide healthy meals to those in need. She sits on the Youth Advisory Board for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and is a Global Teen Leader for the We are Family Foundation.

The honorees were nominated by a collection of CGI members and global leaders and selected for their visionary leadership, demonstrated impact, and sustainable and scalable work in solving global issues. Recipients were chosen from government, civil society, the private sector, and the philanthropic community.