With the Federal Summer Food Program drawing to a close, the Kansas Food Bank and the City of Wichita are stepping forward to ensure that children living in two of the City’s most economically challenged areas do not go hungry. The Federal program officially ends July 30th and school begins August 16th. That leaves two weeks when children who depend on the summer feeding program have to find other alternatives.

In 2009, the Kansas Food Bank was able to assist at Atwater Neighborhood City Hall with box lunches for children during the two week lag. “This year we are pleased to be able to add a second site reaching more children who are at risk of going hungry during this time frame” stated Brian Walker, President and CEO, of the Kansas Food Bank.

The Kansas Food Bank is supplying sack lunches at Atwater and Colvin Neighborhood City Halls starting August 2nd. Once school resumes, children will have access to free and/or reduced cost lunches at school. Both Atwater and Colvin were among the 40 sites that participated in the Federal Summer Food Program this summer. Sack lunches will be available at both locations between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to children ages 18 and under.

USD 259 and the City of Wichita along with area community partners have been instrumental in expanding the Federal Summer Food Program this year. Through their hard work and dedication as many as 3000 kids a day were receiving lunch throughout the summer.

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!

Program runs from August 1st until September 5th, 2010.

Editorial, The Wichita Eagle

Given all the local job losses, it’s not surprising that area food pantries have seen increased demand. But it’s troubling that so many of those who are hungry are children — though it’s also encouraging that community groups and officials are working together to help feed more kids this summer.

The Kansas Food Bank has seen a 20 to 30 percent increase in demand for food from last year, The Eagle reported. And the need is especially great among children. About 42 percent of the people served in April by United Methodist Open Door’s food pantry were under age 18.

But Wichita and Kansas have done poorly in the past in feeding hungry children during the summer. A report released last year by the Food Research and Action Center ranked Kansas nearly last in the nation for participation in summer lunch programs.

There were 152,547 low-income Kansas kids enrolled in school lunch programs during the 2008 school year but only 10,421 children in summer nutrition programs, according to the report. The Wichita school district’s participation rate was about the same as the state’s.

This is particularly frustrating because the federal government pays for the summer lunch program. So funding and food are available, yet structural and logistical problems have kept many kids from being fed.

To their credit, area agencies and groups came together last summer to begin working on ways to increase Wichita’s participation.

One key initiative has been expanding the number of sites serving summer meals from 26 to 40 — and better targeting the location of those sites to neighborhoods with the highest needs. That turned out to be a challenge, as many Wichita public schools are open only four days a week this summer to save money. But area churches and other groups stepped up to provide facilities.

The groups also are trying to better publicize the food program, which began serving meals this week. The Wichita Community Foundation provided money for large signs at the food sites and for door hangers that members of area churches distributed.

Another key has been increased cooperation between food distribution organizations, churches, the Wichita school district and the city of Wichita. These groups have become more mindful and strategic about working together to feed more children. Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer, who faced hunger issues as a child, also has helped raise awareness of the need and called people to action.

Because of these initiatives, Polly Basore, director of development and community relations at the Kansas Food Bank, said the groups hope to serve 50 to 100 percent more kids this summer.

Though that would still leave many kids unfed, it would be a tremendous improvement and a great base for future gains. It also would be yet more evidence of the impact that groups and individuals can make when they work together to tackle a pressing need.

— For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/04/1343399/feed-more-children-this-summer.html#ixzz0puuvVmKN

The Wichita Eagle

June 2, 2010

The neediest children in Kansas have made very little use of the free meals offered each summer through a federal program.

Only 6.8 percent of the state’s children who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches at public schools took advantage of the free meals during the summer of 2008, according to the Food Research and Action Center, a Washington-based nonprofit.

That has Kansas ranked 49th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Only Oklahoma and Mississippi are lower, at 4.6 and 4.4 percent, respectively.

To help increase the participation, the Kansas Food Bank is working with the Wichita school district for this summer’s program, which began serving breakfasts and lunches Tuesday and continues through July 30.

Attempts have been made to raise awareness of the program, plus the number of sites have been increased to 40 from 26 last summer.

“We want to make sure the hungry kids get fed,” said food bank president and CEO Brian Walker. “We said, ‘Wait a minute, we need to help out.’ ”

Walker put his forces into action shortly after the 2008 figures became available last year. Although the food bank serves 85 Kansas counties, it targeted its help in Wichita, where there is the greatest concentration of need.

Seventy percent of Wichita schoolchildren qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, said Vicki Hoffman, the school district’s nutrition services director.

No school funds are spent on the program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture pays for the food for the Summer Food Service Program, which is open to all children. There are no income or other qualifications for children under 18 to receive the free meals.

But those who have the greatest need of the free meals haven’t been taking part.

The research center figured that out by looking at the participation rate of the children who qualified for the federally subsidized lunch program during the school year.

The food bank used a grant from the Wichita Community Foundation to produce some promotional material, including banners that were put up in front of the sites and door hangers that have been distributed throughout neighborhoods — in English and Spanish.

In addition, the food bank used its contacts throughout Wichita to expand the number of sites.

Different states use various means to administer the federal program. In Kansas, the state Department of Education has been assigned that role.

But with schools strapped for cash, fewer of their buildings are open in the summer.

In the past, a handful of churches and community organizations, such as the Atwater Neighborhood City Hall, have opened their doors for the program. This year, 17 of the 40 sites aren’t schools.

Sites are selected based on where there is the greatest need, said Polly Basore, community relations director for the food bank.

Federal money pays for a person to deliver and serve meals from the school district’s central kitchen at all of the sites, Basore said. The rest of the staffing is done by volunteers.

Because the program provides free meals to all children, Basore said, “A lot of people get upset and say, ‘Oh you’re feeding kids that don’t need it.’ Well, generally kids who don’t need it aren’t walking to the local school in the summer to get a free meal. They’re snacking out of the cupboards at home.”

To try to be selective about which children are truly needy wouldn’t be possible during the summer because staff isn’t available, Hoffman said.

“It wouldn’t work,” she said. “It would be a barrier for the kids.”

Children also may eat at any site, not just the one in their neighborhood, Hoffman said.

All 40 of the sites serve lunches, and 26 of those also offer breakfasts.

Two of the lunches each week are hot meals, including pizza each Friday.

“We really hope we serve more kids (this summer),” Hoffman said.

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/02/1340118/few-children-ate-free-summer-meals.html#ixzz0puu2UUMw

BY RICK PLUMLEE

The Wichita Eagle

June 2, 2010

That’s what brought Lisa to the United Methodist’s Open Door’s food pantry at 1611 N. Mosley on Tuesday.

“There are a lot of families working hard to do something with their lives,” said Lisa, who asked that her last name not be used for privacy reasons.

She tried to prepare for hard times, which is why she has enough savings to rent a house in Wichita for at least a few months. But her resources are limited.

“There are a lot of struggles, a lot of hurdles,” Lisa said.

She joins a growing list of those who need a boost to handle those bumps.

Last year’s unemployment high for the Wichita area was about 29,000, double what it was the previous year.

While there are signs the local economy is improving, there are many who are just now reaching the end of their resources after being laid off or having their hours cut.

The Kansas Food Bank, which serves 85 counties in the state, has seen a 20 to 30 percent increase in demand for food from last year, said Brian Walker, the nonprofit’s president and CEO.

While workers at some of the city’s food pantries and other groups that provide food say the number of households they are seeing is down slightly, those households have increased in size.

That’s because families are combining under one roof to help cut costs, said Donna Volz, Open Door’s community services director.

“Locally, the economy is probably stabilizing but stabilizing low,” Volz said. “We’re seeing more people and more children.”

One out of 20 Wichita children don’t get enough to eat, according to the Kansas Food Bank.

About 42 percent of the nearly 7,350 people the Open Door served in April were under 18. Eleven percent were under 5.

Overall, the nearly 33,500 food boxes distributed by Open Door in 2009 was 8 percent higher than in 2008. In the first four months of this year, the pantry passed out nearly 10,000 boxes, Volz said.

At Street Lights’ pantry, which opened last June in a converted garage at 1658 S. Topeka, someone from a household of 15 showed up recently.

Street Lights provided food for about 8,900 people through the first five months of this year, including more than 3,600 children, said Sam Boxberger, who founded the ministry with his wife, Lois.

“There are a lot of people who are pretty much one paycheck away from needing help,” Sam Boxberger said.

He counted himself as one of those. Employed by an aircraft company, he was two days away from being laid off when the company found another spot for him with a sizable pay cut.

Kansas Food Bank serves as a warehouse to pass along food at no cost or reduced cost to about 300 organizations, including 112 in Sedgwick County. In a recent survey, the food bank found that 40 percent of the households served by those groups have at least one adult member who is employed.

“That tell us at least 40 percent of the households just don’t have enough to get by,” Walker said. “There are folks who can’t work. But the mindset that the majority are folks who just don’t want to help themselves is not accurate.”

The food bank’s survey also found that 45 percent of the people served through the organizations had to choose between buying food and paying the rent or mortgage.

Most pantries that provide food allow only one distribution of food per month.

Those food boxes aren’t meant to last for an entire month. For instance, Volz said Open Door’s box is intended to last two or three days.

So households are encouraged to draw on the resources of other pantries or eat at soup kitchens throughout the month.

“You can find food at different places in Wichita,” Sam Boxberger said. “I tell people, ‘Don’t lose your home. Pay your utilities, pay your rent and find food from somewhere.’ ”

Even at the Boxbergers’ back door, which a woman recently chose to do.

“She didn’t have any food for her children,” Lois Boxberger said. “If you come to my back door, you get food.”

The organizations often have to struggle to keep their shelves stocked. Sometimes one can of green beans goes into the box instead of two.

At Open Door, Volz said she draws heavily on the Kansas Food Bank and donations from Leeker’s Family Foods grocery store.

“It’s a lot to expect from a community,” she said, “but Wichita has done a great job. The food bank is amazing.”

The Boxbergers rely heavily on their resources to provide food at the Street Lights, Sam Boxberger said. Obtaining food from the food bank at low cost or no charge has been their lifeline.

“The food bank saves us,” Sam Boxberger said.

The Kansas Food Bank, which handles about 8 million pounds of food annually, has to be creative in searching for its food sources.

“There’s never enough,” Walker said, “but we haven’t had to turn any agencies away.”

About 25 percent of its food is purchased, 50 percent comes from outside the state through its partnership with Feeding America, 10 percent from government commodities and 15 percent from local donations, Walker said.

The purchase price tag is growing. With still a month to go, the food bank has purchased $1.2 million in food this fiscal year — up from $300,000 from five years ago, Walker said.

For more than a year, the food bank has been sending out refrigerated trucks to collect unsold food from Wal-Mart, Sam’s and Dillons.

“They save perishable products that are still good but might not be to the standards they want to sell in the stores,” Walker said.

Since Jan 1, he said the food bank has picked up about a half-million pounds of food from those stores.

“That’s a half-million pounds that otherwise might have gone to the landfill,” Walker said.

Meanwhile, Volz logged 420 new families into the Open Door’s records in April.

“The need sure isn’t going down,” she said. “The economic outlook may not be as grim as a year ago, but people still need us.”

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/02/1340116/as-economy-heals-families-go-hungry.html#ixzz0put0G7kI

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.