Our heartfelt “Thanks” to everyone who donated to make the Letter Carriers Food Drive a success!  This year with your help, the Kansas Food Bank and our partner agencies across the state received over 309,000 pounds of food equating to over a quarter million meals.   We appreciate all the letter carriers, postal workers, drivers and volunteers who made this happen.  And of course, we can’t forget our friends at NetApp who provided special blue collection bags to 19 communities!

The Kansas Food Bank received enough Facebook votes to receive $45,000 for our Food 4 Kids backpack program.  The top 40 food banks with the most votes, each received funding.  Thanks to all of our Facebook friends who voted!   We could not have won this award without your votes!

Sephora is teaming up with the Kansas Food Bank!  Through their VIO, Values Inside Out, program, Sephora will be helping raise awareness of hunger in Kansas this year.  Our partner store is located at Bradley Fair, 2000 N Rock Rd, in Wichita.   Sephora customers wishing to donate toward the VIO promotion should click here.

Five cents has never gone so far, when Taco Bueno restaurants turn this year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration into Cinco de Bueno.  On Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, participating Taco Bueno restaurants will debut an improved, bolder queso for only five cents a serving with the proceeds going to the Kansas Food Bank. And the richer, tastier queso isn’t all that will be bueno on that date. Taco Bueno will match all sales from the new queso offer for the participating eight food banks, making the day even “More Bueno.”

Vote Today, and every day now through the end of April for the Kansas Food Bank to win a $45,000 grant to help in the Fight to End Child Hunger!  Be a Hunger Hero!

Partners for Wichita and the Kansas Food Bank are providing meals for children at 14 sites across Wichita during spring break for children March 14th – March 22nd.   Lunch will be available daily between noon and 1:00 pm.

Northwest:

1.  Evergreen Neighborhood City Hall, 2700 N Woodland St
2.  Fairview Christian Church, 1650 Fairview St
3.  Inter-Faith Ministries Villa Court, 930 N Market
4.  New Covenant Church, 1718 W Douglas

Northeast:

5.  Atwater Neighborhood City Hall, 2755 E 19th St N
6.  Urban League, 2418 E 9th St
7.  Trueword Full Gospel Baptist, 1108 N Oliver
8.  Grant Chapel, 2750 N Hillside

Southeast:

9.  Victory Community of Faith, 812 S Oliver
10. Colvin Neighborhood City Hall, 2820 S Roosevelt
11. *Lighthouse Community Church, 3407 E 47th St S

Southwest:

12. Stanley Aley Neighborhood City Hall, 1749 S Martinson
13. *St. Anne’s Catholic Church, 2801 S Seneca
14. Cross Point Baptist Church, 1515 E Harry

(*will serve Mon-Fri only March 18-22)

This month we want to acknowledge the hard work of Manna Ministry in Arkansas City, and the great work they’ve done to develop a community of strong supporters for the work they do.

In addition to serving over 300 families each month at their pantry, one of the important tasks that they have risen to is grocery store rescue.  In Arkansas City they have a Country Mart, Dillons, and Walmart and the folks at Manna Ministry have managed their relationship with these important donors very well.

One of the struggles our agencies who participate in a grocery rescue program face is having enough refrigerator and freezer space to store the product they receive.  Even though they had 10 dedicated freezers, they didn’t have enough space to meet the need, and not nearly enough space for refrigerated perishables like produce and milk.

Because of their hard work they managed this past year to buy and install a large walk-in cooler and freezer that has made a world of difference in their ability to continue to grow their program for their community.  In 2012 they rescued over 88,000 lbs of food from the grocery stores in their community making them truly an agency worth our spotlight.

It is hard to believe the New Year is already upon us. With that comes a renewed focus of providing missing meals to our neighbors in need.

Your Kansas Food Bank depends on generous donations from individuals, groups, and corporations to pursue our mission of feeding Kansas’s hungry. These donations take many forms. They can be a one-time donation, a monthly commitment, or a bequest. Organizations can give grants or organize workplace food or fund drives. There are countless ways that Kansans contribute each year to making our state a better place. And it is with this generous support that Your Kansas Food Bank is able to serve all or part of a meal to more than 32,000 Kansans each week.

Peoples’ biggest misconception is that their donation won’t go very far. They often think that a dollar won’t make a difference, but nothing could be further from the truth. For every dollar donated, Your Kansas Food Bank can provide four meals to families in need. In 2012, we distributed over 9.6 million meals to children, families, and seniors in need of emergency food assistance.

Every dollar, every can of food, is one more step towards ending hunger in our community. We would like to offer a heartfelt Thank You to all of those whose donations make our work possible. Together, we continue to provide hope to families facing hunger.

The Kansas Food Bank will be closing early on December 24th and will be closed all day December 25th and 26th so our employees can spend Christmas with their families.

From our families to all of yours, we hope you have a wonderful Holiday.  We will resume regular work hours on Thursday, December 27th.

Now through November 25, 2012 local Dillon’s stores are “bringing hope to the table”.  All Wichita, Derby, Andover, Augusta, Hutchinson, Mulvane and Newton stores are participating. They have pre-made $5 and $10 boxes which makes it easy for shoppers to pick up and donate.  In addition, they also have $1 and $5 scan cards so customers can donate as they check out.  Drop by your local store today and make your donation to the Kansas Food Bank to help feed a family in need this Holiday Season.