Feeding the thousands: Kansas City's pandemic generosity expressed
Photo for Flatland KC provided by The Rieger.
Perhaps the most prolific — and necessary — expression of generosity across Kansas City has been the large scale distribution of food, scattered into thousands of homes as everyone leans on each other through COVID-19’s pandemic.
Food organizations, schools, churches, community groups, social services and chefs are trying to fill what lines at giveaways show remain a pressing need.
The need is strong, said chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant, of The Prospect, and leader of a mid-town Kansas City food effort through the Urban League in Kansas CIty, talking about the struggle to provide “fresh fruits and vegetables to stand in the gap.”
Cars lined up for a mile in the rain to get food distributed by the Fort Osage School District last month.
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It takes creativity to turn out safe meal distributions, using so much food donated by generous sources or funded by relief programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Missouri Department of Social Services.
“We’re chefs,” chef Brandon Winn told Flatland KC. “This is what we do. We solve problems all day long,” .
Flatland talked to Winn as a team member of Chef Collective KC’s Community Meals Project. The effort grew out of work frpm the restaurant, The Rieger, and Howard Hanna, who Flatland said has served more than 65,000 meals through Crossroads Community Kitchen, and Black Sheep’s Michael Foust, who’s pay-it-forward model that has served 7,500 meals.
LINC has been helping spread the word of many of the area efforts on its food resource page.
LINC is also working to spread the word of a federal program active in Missouri that is allowing all families whose children were receiving free or reduced-price meals at school to receive up to $302 per child for grocery purchases.
That program provides those households with a purchase card — the pandemic EBT card — they can use in stores and online with certain retailers. But families have to apply, and the extended deadline is now July 7.