It seemed apropos that a group of western Kansas food agencies and a team of Kansas Food Bank representatives, both working to streamline the region’s charitable food system to better serve the food and nutritional security needs of its residents, came together recently in a new facility they hope will jump-start the very transformation they seek.
Transforming to a Healthier Future: Western Kansas Food Agency Convening 2024, a learning and networking opportunity for rural food pantries that was organized by Sunflower Foundation and the KFB and made possible in part by the Patterson Family Foundation, was held in July at the KFB’s new western Kansas food distribution warehouse in Garden City.
Just a day before the convening, KFB hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the new warehouse, a project that Sunflower Foundation is proud to have supported as part of KFB’s ongoing $10 million capital campaign that drove the warehouse renovation and will help western Kansas food agencies grow their capacities. The foundation used a portion of a one-time, unrestricted gift of $4 million it received from billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to help KFB secure the building it later turned into the regional food distribution hub.
While the new warehouse is expected to increase food distribution across the 31 westernmost counties in Kansas by 50% and double the amount of fresh produce being delivered in the region, it also served as a great jumping off point for KFB and its rural partners as they work to build a stronger, more cohesive, more efficient network that can improve access to essential, healthy food for residents in rural western Kansas.
“Over time, as we’ve seen demand increase and need increase and the need to provide more perishable, more high protein, fresh produce items, (we realized) that we need to figure out how we can do that better,” said Brian Walker, president and CEO of Kansas Food Bank. “Because the old system was good, we have just outgrown it, and the need had outgrown that system.”
Food pantry representatives who attended the two-day convening in July had the opportunity to tour the warehouse, learn about what they can do to bolster their infrastructure and prepare their staffs to fully take advantage of the increased food and produce that will be available, and hear success stories from both rural Kansas and out-of-state food agencies that overcame challenges and transformed their operations.
Additionally, participants heard more about KFB’s capital campaign and what it could mean for them. KFB plans to put some of the money raised toward capacity building grants that western Kansas food pantries could use to bolster their operations with such things as increased cooler space, additional loading docks, and upgraded technology.
The work being done to transform the western Kansas charitable food system represents an intersection of two of Sunflower Foundation’s key program areas – nutrition and food security and capacity building for small nonprofits. While the addition of the warehouse was critical, just as important are the opportunities for the region’s small, rural food pantries to improve their abilities to offer more fresh produce and healthy food.
“The food distribution warehouse in Garden City is a critical first step in making fresh, healthy foods routinely available to those in need in the western part of the state,” said Brandon Skidmore, president and CEO of Sunflower Foundation. “We applaud the thoughtful work of the Kansas Food Bank and the region’s food agencies to develop a vision and a plan for how to maximize this new resource.”
With the new distribution warehouse up and running and the region’s food distribution agencies working hard to strengthen their network and streamline their operations, Sunflower Foundation staff is excited to support KFB and its partners in their efforts to better meet the food and nutrition security needs of western Kansas residentsits