In an effort to get more food out to the under served counties in our service area, the Kansas Food Bank has been on the road.

June 17th marked our maiden voyage of a mobile pantry to Marion County.  There we helped 224 families and distributed 15,000 pounds of food.

In August we will deploy the mobile pantry to the following counties:  Chautauqua, Elk and Neosho.   On deck for September are counties in the northwest part of our state.

A mobile pantry is simply a pantry on wheels and not confined by bricks and mortar.  We work in advance with community partners to schedule a time and location.  On the day of distribution we load up the truck and head to our destination.  Once there, volunteers help us unload and set up.  We then distribute product in an open farmer’s market style.  Our guests are able to select items they can use.  We take an assortment of canned and dry items, produce, bread and drink.  At the end of our distribution time, we clean up, load up and come home.  It is a quick and easy way to distribute food in a barrier free environment.

We have also been working with agencies in McPherson, Marion and Butler Counties to distribute additional produce.  Agencies have opened up for special “Produce Only” distribution days.  These distributions allow the agencies to help anyone in need of food assistance without going through their normal intake process.  As more and more produce becomes available to us, we will work with other counties to offer the same type of distributions.  It’s just another way we are going to distance to ensure that no Kansan go hungry.

A Great story about what food banks across the country are doing with our Store Donation Program partners like Walmart, Dillons, Sams Club, and Target (the list goes on and on).  This program, and the amazing support of these grocers, make it possible for our agencies across the state to feed 10s of thousands of our fellow Kansans.  Thanks to them, for all they do to help us in the fight to end hunger!

“Americans waste an estimated 150 billion pounds of food a year — much of it from grocery stores. Now Wal-Mart and the nation’s food bank network are trying to reverse that trend. To see how the system is going, NPR followed squash and corn from Walmart’s shelves to a food bank to those who need it.”

Listen to the Story: A Squash’s Journey: From The Shelf To The Hungry : NPR

Plant a Row for the Hungry is in it’s 12th year providing fresh garden produce for the Kansas Food Bank.  Last year, donations were a whopping 77,987 pounds.  All of these pounds are distributed to our hunger relief partners who help improve the quality of life for the hungry in the communities we serve.    

All fruits and vegetables are appreciated.  From the potatoes of spring to tomatoes of summer and squash from fall, all products are greatly appreciated.

Drop off locations:  During the growing season, you may take fresh garden produce to the drop-off site closest to you!

Kansas Food Bank, 1919 E Douglas
Augusta Ace Home Center, 316 W 7th Ave-Augusta
Brady Nursery, 11200 W Kellogg
Hillside Nursery, 2200 S Hillside
Valley Feed & Seed, 1903 S Meridian
& all Johnson’s Garden Centers
   802 N Ridge Rd
   21st & Woodlawn
   2707 West 13th

One pound at a time….one row at a time.  Together we make a difference!

Mark your calendars.  May 14th is the annual Letter Carriers food drive.  This is the 18th year for their Stamp Out Hunger food drive which will benefit the Kansas Food Bank.  Letter carriers throughout Wichita will be delivering post cards and bags to all homes in the city.  Residents are asked to fill their bags with non-perishable food items that their letter carrier will retreive and return to the Kansas Food Bank.  Last year alone, the drive brought in just over 200,000 pounds of food in one day.   All of the food that is collected is then equitably distributed back to the pantry agencies that are served by the Kansas Food Bank.  So be sure and fill your bag and leave for your letter carrier on May 14th!

The Grainger Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, has donated $10,000 to Kansas Food Bank Warehouse in support of its mission to provide comprehensive and compassionate Hunger Care.

“This grant will be used whenever and wherever it is needed to safeguard the health, well-being and productivity of food-insecure Kansas families,” said Larry Gunkel. “.  We are grateful to The Grainger Foundation for its generosity.”

Lynette Ritterling, Executive Assistant said these programs currently serve 530 hunger-relief partners in 85 counties, with over 9 million lbs. of food distributed in the past year.

This donation was recommended by Rick Weidman, Branch Manager of W.W. Grainger, Inc.’s Wichita location.  Grainger has been a part of the Wichita business community for more than 51 years as the leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating products.  “We are proud to recommend the programs offered by Kansas Food Bank Warehouse”, said Rick Weidman.  “We understand the need for Kansas Food Bank Warehouse.”

“What’s So Great About Kansas” is a state pride anthology of essays about Kansas by Kansans for publication in the fall of 2011 as a print book and e-book by Buzz Books USA, an independent press in the Midwest. The book is also a fundraiser for the Kansas Food Bank with $1 of each book sale being donated to the cause. Essays will be gathered via a contest and judged by professional writers in other states. The top 25 essays will be selected based on the highest scores for each category and entry.

Who Can Enter: The contest is open to all writers in Kansas, ages 13+. You must be a current resident of Kansas or were born and raised in Kansas and graduated from high school in Kansas.

Deadline: Entries must be postmarked no later than May 15, 2011. This contest is for digital entries only, which means you will need access to an e-mail account and the Internet. For more information click here.

The Kansas Food Bank, a member of the Feeding America network, is working harder every day to assist individuals and their families right here in Wichitain these tough economic times. Fighting hunger is a daily challenge, and we are always looking for new ways to meet it head on.

That’s why we’re so excited to announce our involvement in the Gap Inc. “Give & Get” program running from March 17^th through the 20^th. For these four days, Gap Inc. provides customers with a 30% discount coupon which when used in-store triggers a donation of 5% of total “Give & Get” sales to the charity partner of their choice. Feeding America is one of six participating charity partners. The discount coupon can be shared with additional friends and family so that their purchases during the “Give & Get” promotion will also support the selected non-profit.

 Participating is easy and your impact can be huge. To ensure that the Kansas Food Bank benefits from the program you can download this coupon now:  Gap Give & Get Invite It’s a great opportunity for our supporters to do something good for our community.

Governor Brownback stopped by the Kansas Food Bank to lend a hand packing Food 4 Kids Backpacks as part of his Heart of Kansas Tour.  The Governor and his team packed well over 1,500 backpacks in just over an hour.

Our hats go off to Jordan for his generosity.  He received $15.50 for Christmas and decided he wanted to help provide food for people in need.  Because of his good deed, his dad decided he would not only match Jordan’s donation but add to it a little bit too!  Thanks Jordan for being a good role model and thinking of others.

We just wanted to take a minute to “Thank” everyone who participated in the Holiday Challenge that WalMart held via Facebook.  While we did not land in the top six to secure a cash donation….we were extremely pleased with the more than 87,000 votes we received which put us in 7th place.  We received a lot of publicity over this challenge and more and more people learned about the Kansas Food Bank.  So, in the end…we were winners.  Again, our “Thanks” to everyone who voted, shared and spent countless hours helping us get to #7!