Seeds of Hope Summer 2012

In this edition:

• You Keep Our Community’s Children Healthy and Active
• Using Retirement Days to Impact Families in Need
• Homeless Families Have Hope Because of You
• You Help Deserving Caregivers Provide Needed Summer Meals

Child hunger is always on our minds.

It is time for us to once again start thinking about “Filling the Gap”.

Along with Partners for Wichita, the Kansas Food Bank will be providing meals to Wichita children this summer between the time when the summer feeding program ends and when school begins.  We are looking a two full weeks in August where we ensure that children have access to free, kid friendly, nutritious food.  And we are looking at expanding the number of sites where meals will be offered from 7 to 10!  Over spring break we supplied over 3,500 meals to kids.

You can help us provide meals for Filling the Gap.

Local letter carriers will be distributing specially marked bags to homes the week of the food drive.  Residents are simply asked to place non-perishable food items in the bags and leave them on Saturday morning for their postal carrier to pick up.  NetApp has generously provided the Kansas Food Bank with 270,000 bags to assist in the collection process.  Communities across our service area will be participating with food collected locally going to our HungerCare partners.

This food drive is especially important to the Kansas Food Bank since summer tends to be a time when our agencies experience an increase in the amount of families looking for food assistance.  Children are out of school and additional meals are needed.  The Letter Carriers food drive helps us keep up with the demand.

So remember to save the date and help us “Stamp Out Hunger”.  Together we can make a difference!

A major milestone has been hit here at your Kansas Food Bank.  We are so thrilled to announce that as of March 29, 2012 a hunger relief partner has been secured and served in all 85 counties that we cover.  It has been a long, hard road but one that we feel so worth the trip.

Over that past 9 months we have worked diligently to ensure each and every county has access to the Kansas Food Bank.  Whether that partner is a food pantry, soup kitchen, shelter, mobile drop site, Food 4 Kids School or SNAP Outreach location, we have successfully made an impact in ensuring No Kansan Go Hungry.

The connections we have made will be everlasting.  They are connections that will help us continue to fulfill our mission.  They are connections with people just like us who would and will do whatever it takes to make sure our hungry friends and neighbors have access to food.  Our hunger care partners make us proud and we could not do what we do without them.  They are an extension of us and we are honored to work with each and every one of them.

And now we can successfully say, all 85 counties are served and will continue to be served!

Participating brands include:
• Lucky Charms® Cereal
• Reese’s Puffs® Cereal
• Cheerios® Cereal
• Apple Cinnamon Cheerios® Cereal
• Cookie Crisp® Cereal
• Pillsbury® Ready to Bake™ Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Betty Crocker® Wild Blueberry Muffins
• Betty Crocker® Banana Nut Muffins
• Betty Crocker® Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Bisquick® Baking Mix
• Totino’s® Party Pizza® Pepperoni
• Totino’s® Party Pizza® Combination
• Totino’s® Party Pizza® Cheese
• Totino’s® Pizza Rolls® Pepperoni
• Totino’s® Pizza Rolls® Combination
• Green Giant® Broccoli & Cheese Sauce
• Green Giant® Garden Vegetable Medley
• Green Giant® Green Beans & Almonds
• Betty Crocker® Au Gratin Potatoes
• Betty Crocker® Scalloped Potatoes
• Fiber One® Oats & Chocolate Chewy Bars
• Fiber One® Oats & Peanut Butter Bars
• Chocolate Chex Mix® Snack – Turtle
• Sweet’n Salty Chex Mix® Snack – Honey Nut
• Bugles® Original
• Sunkist® Fruit Flavored Shapes
• Sunkist® Fruit Rollups

In addition, you can follow Big Machine Label Group artists on Facebook and Twitter to get access to special codes that can trigger donations for the Kansas Food Bank.  KFB can receive $0.65 (a five meal donation) for every code generated by a supporter of your food bank.

Participating BMLG artists include: Rascal Flatts, The Band Perry, Reba, Martina McBride, Eli Young Band, Sunny Sweeney, Edens Edge,   Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert, Ella Mae Bowen and Thomas Rhett Akins.

Right now, 1 in 6 Americans is struggling with hunger. Though we cannot tell who is hungry from the clothes people wear, the jobs they work, or the color of their skin, an apple a day is out of reach for nearly 49 million Americans. Approximately 14.5 percent of American households lack access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life.

Here at the Kansas Food Bank, we have made a commitment to increase the amount of fresh produce we offer to our agency partners. Because of this, our produce distribution jumped from 200,000 pounds in 2010 to just over 1 million pounds in 2011. And for 2012, we are projected to distribute 1.5 million pounds.

Fresh produce is often the first thing that gets cut from the grocery budget for cash strapped families. Those at risk of hunger often cannot afford preventative and follow-up healthcare services. For this vulnerable population, access to nutritious foods is vital in maintaining good health. We would not be able to continue this critical work and provide nutritious foods without the support of our community.

Together, we can provide hope to Kansans in need for a better, healthier tomorrow.

Follow the Food!  What exactly happens to the food that is brought into the warehouse and placed in the bin at the front desk? First it goes off to the sort room where it is packed with like items in boxes. From there, it moves to the racks where it awaits an agency order.  Once asked for by one of our partner agencies, it goes onto a pallet with all the other items the agency ordered and it is ready for pick up or transport to the agency. At the agency, it gets unloaded onto their shelves and is ready for its final destination, to a family home where it will be greatly appreciated.

Seeds of Hope Spring 2012

In this edition:

• You’re Putting Food on the Table for Elderly Kansans
• Giving Back in Retirement
• You Help Nourish the Sick and Jobless
• Thank You for Helping Kansas Seniors Stay Healthy