Cessna Customer Service Center presents the 5th Annual Car, Truck and Bike Show to benefit the Kansas Food Bank this upcoming weekend, on July 31st from 2:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. It all takes place at the Cessna Citation Service Center, One Citation Lane – 2121 S Hoover (1/2 mile north of K-42 on Hoover Rd).

Admission is $1 cash donation or 1 can of food
Entry fee: $15 Car, Truck or Motorcycle
Registration is from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information please call 316-517-3501

There will be live music as well as a kids play area, a vendor pavillion and a food court!

ALSO…a Pine Derby Race at 4:00 p.m. Bring your own car and compete!

It’s official!  Our new Peterbuilt tractor and trailer has hit the road.  Our first delivery in it was today to the Eastern border of Central Kansas.  We delivered just over 26,000 pounds of food to agencies in Iola, Humbolt, Ft. Scott, Prescott and Pittsburg.  It can easily hold 18 pallates and has a refridgerated trailer with a lift gate.  This new vehicle will help us meet the demands of our Rural Delivery program across the State of Kansas.

Kevin Enz accepts Poker Run check from Stu Puls.

The Kansas Food Bank held the winning hand at the first Annual Charity Poker Run on the Kansas International Dragway on June 6. Our Poker Run cash winnings amounted to $600 from entry fees and other payments from purchasing extra poker hands. Food contributions were received at the dragway site as well as at the 11 locations of Bumper-to-Bumper Certified Service Centers in Wichita, El Dorado, Goddard, Rose Hill, Mulvane, Potwin, Newton, Park City, Derby and Valley Center. We were happy to learn that Jobber’s Automotive Warehouse, a friend and neighbor in our old South Wichita facility, would be getting in the game with Stu Puls sitting in as a lead player. Everyone seemed to have a roaring good time as participants in their street-legal motorcycles and automobiles did their thing while Poker Run fans cheered them on. 

All we can say to our Bumper-to-Bumper friends is let’s shuffle up and deal again next year!

Aida’s was among retailers across the United States that joined Brighton in offering limited edition jewelry designed to help feed struggling Americans.  Brighton asked their retailers to nominate American Hero’s in their community who are feeding people.  The Kansas Food Bank was selected from among hundreds of entries that Brighton received because of the passion that Aida’s and their customers showed for the work the Kansas Food Bank does in the community.  Aida presented the Kansas Food Bank with a $5,000 check to help further the work we do. Thank you Brighton and Aida for your dedication!

In Wichita

June 1 marked the beginning of the Federal Summer Meals Program in Wichita. More than 34,500 children receive free and reduced priced meals during the school year because of their family income falling at or below 185% of the poverty level. Free meals are also available in the summer, but getting hungry kids to the table is much harder without daily busing and with most schools closed.

In the past, about 6 percent of Wichita children who qualify participated in the federfal summer meals program in Wichita. That low participation rate contibutes to Kansas coming in 49th in the nation in terms of percentage of kids fed in the summer.

To enure that more of the neediest kids have access to free meals this summer, the Kansas Food Bank teamed up with the Wichita Community Foundation and Wichita Public Schools. As a result, this year free summer meals will be served at 40 locations around Wichita, up from 26 sites last year.

To get the word out, each location has a 3′x8′ ft. banner placed out front, like the one shown here in front of Jackson Elementary.  And over Memorial Weekend, volunteers from seven Wichita churches will walk high-need neighborhoods, distributing information about where children may go for nearby free meals. For a full map of summer food locations and meal times in Wichita, click here. 

Outside of Wichita

The Federal Summer Food Program is now operating in several dozen Kansas communities, providing free summer meals to children. For a complete list of locations, click here. Unfortunately, many rural communities are not eligible for this program because it is only offered in areas where more than 50% of children qualify for free and reduced lunches during the school year. In these areas, local civic groups and congregations are encouraged to find out about hungry children in your community and consider sponsoring free meals.

Wichita public schools mark the last day of school on Wednesday, May 26 bringing an end to the free and subsidized school meals relied upon by the 34,500 children who qualify. The federal government also offers free meals for children during the summer but getting those kids to the table is much harder without daily busing and with most schools closed.

In the past, only 6 percent of children who qualify participated in the federfal summer meals program in Wichita. That low participation rate contibutes to Kansas coming in 49th in the nation in terms of percentage of kids fed in the summer.

To enure that more of the neediest kids have access to free meals this summer, the Kansas Food Bank teamed up with the Wichita Community Foundation and Wichita Public Schools. As a result, this year free summer meals will be served at 40 locations around Wichita, up from 26 sites last year.

To get the word out, each location has a 3′x8′ ft. banner placed out front, like the one shown here in front of Jackson Elementary.  And over Memorial Weekend, volunteers from seven Wichita churches will walk high-need neighborhoods, distributing information about where children may go for nearby free meals. For a full map of summer food locations and meal times in Wichita, click here. Food service begins Tuesday, June 1.

Generous Kansans responded as never before to the Letter Carrier’s “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive. The May 8 event brought in more  than 176,000 lbs. collected from the Wichita area, helping the national drive to surpass the 1 billion lb. mark of total food collected since the annual event began 18 years ago.  The donated food will be distributed to hungry Kansans by the Kansas Food Bank through our hundreds of hunger-relief partners. The largest food drive of the year got a boost of local publicity when members of National Association of Letter Carriers Local #201 appeared in the Wichita Riverfest Parade on Friday May 7, alongside “Phil the Backpack,” the icon of the Kansas Food Bank’s Food4Kids backpack program. Thanks to everyone for making the event a huge success!

Saturday, May 8 marks the annual National Letter Carriers’ Food Drive — the single largest food drive held each year. Just set your cans and other non-perishable food donations by the mailbox. Your mail carrier will collect these items and bring them to the Kansas Food Bank where the food will be sorted and distributed to food pantries in our community and around the state. Join the effort to Stamp Out Hunger. SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, May 8 is the nation’s largest one-day food drive Stamp Out Hunger. Simply Text STAMP1 to 30305 for reminders and updates about the event.

Riverfest is teaming up with the Kansas Food Bank to aid the fight against hunger in our community! Before you bring your kids to the Friday, Saturday or Sunday night West Bank Stage concerts, make sure you grab a can of food per child. Kids ages 6-10 get into each concert for free with their Riverfest button when they donate a can of food to the Kansas Food Bank. Help make a difference and donate at Riverfest!