Latest news with #KansasFoodBank
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How many Kansans will a semi of mac & cheese feed? Breaking down gift to food bank
How many people will 38,000 pounds of mac and cheese feed? Hungry Kansans are about to find out. The Kansas Food Bank in Wichita, which supplies 18 million pounds of food a year to agencies that help with hunger in 85 counties statewide, got a donation Thursday from Land O'Lakes for roughly 38,000 pounds of macaroni and cheese. It will start sending the food out Monday and Tuesday to food pantries and other organizations that support hunger. Kansas Food Bank President and CEO Brian Walker said the timing is perfect: School is out and more children are missing meals. There are food programs through schools, but not everyone will be able to make it to the school to get the food. 'It's really great because macaroni and cheese has made a comeback,' Walker said. 'If we go out to eat, I don't think there's a restaurant that doesn't have macaroni and cheese.' Land O'Lakes has made large donations in the past, he said, but an entire semi-trailer full of one item is always a significant donation. The pre-cooked mac and cheese can be boiled in the bag or popped in the microwave. Here is a breakdown of how much mac and cheese that is: 24 pallets full About 52 cases on each pallet (total of 1,260 cases) Each case has six 5-pound bags of macaroni and cheese Total weight: 37,800 pounds of macaroni and cheese That would be 81,067 servings of one cup (about 7.5 ounces each) The macaroni and cheese was provided through Land O'Lakes First Run. In a December 2024 post, the company said it donated 297,675 pounds of Land O'Lakes macaroni and cheese the past year and 7.3 million pounds of food since starting the program 14 years before. 'As a farmer-owned cooperative, Land O'Lakes, Inc is deeply committed to hunger relief. This effort begins locally in the communities that our members and employees call home, many of them rural.' Land O'Lakes Senior Vice President and General Counsel Sheilah Stewart said in the 2024 statement. 'We are honored to help our Feeding America food bank partners get fresh, nutritious food directly to the families who need it most.' About 14% of Kansans fall under the threshold as being food insecure, according to Feeding America. The Kansas Food Bank said it is 20% for children.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas Food Bank gets massive mac and cheese donation
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Nothing says comfort food like mac and cheese, and thanks to a massive 40,000-pound donation from Land O'Lakes, the Kansas Food Bank is about to get a whole lot cheesier. With school out and pantry shelves running low, the timing couldn't be better. Brian Walker, President & CEO of the Kansas Food Bank, said, 'It could not have come at a better time. More households than ever are turning to us for support.' Walker said the mac and cheese, which will be distributed to pantries across the region, is an easy win for busy families—simple to heat, familiar to kids, and ready to serve in a pinch. 'You just zap it in the microwave and it's ready to go,' Walker said. 'Let's face it, everybody loves mac and cheese.' Walker said the donation will help fill empty shelves and serve as a quick, comforting meal option for struggling families. 'You know this time of year, donations like this are very important,' Walker said. 'Lots of folks think about hunger during the holiday season… but it's May, school's out, and we do see an increase in demand. This just helps us get started and hopefully get through the summer months.' Wichita nonprofit helps inspire Hispanic students to dream big Walker noted that the need for assistance has surged across age groups. The Food for Kids program reached a record of 6,500 weekly bags, while some areas are now seeing up to 25% of food bank users over the age of 60. 'With inflation, our purchasing dollars don't go as far,' Walker said. 'Anytime we receive a donation like this from corporate citizens like Land O'Lakes, it just helps—not only the food bank, but definitely helps the people who see that on their table.' Despite the scale of the donation, Walker said the warehouse turns over roughly every 28 days, so the need for food remains constant, and the mac and cheese will go fast. 'That's a semi-trailer full of mac and cheese,' Walker said. 'It will go a long way, but it will go out pretty quickly.' For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas food banks, produce farmers blindsided by USDA's $1B funding cut
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The United States Department of Agriculture cut $1 billion of federal funds dedicated to two programs. The Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program is geared toward Kansas schools. Meanwhile, the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) targets local food banks. The goal was to incentivize local organizations to purchase from Kansas farmers. In the case of the Kansas Food Bank, it kept them buying produce in-state. The LFPA helped to open additional markets for Kansas produce. Because of the state's climate, fresh fruits and vegetables are difficult to grow. With the program hitting the chopping block, Kansas produce growers will likely be a rarer sight, and the locally stocked shelves of the Kansas Food Bank may soon need a new source. 'There's nothing better for a healthy diet than fresh produce, right? And you take that away,' Kansas Food Bank CEO Brian Walker said. The program, which started in 2023, has been paying dividends in its two-year lifespan, according to Walker. In 2024, the food bank spent $1.7 million in federal funds on Kansas-grown produce. 'We'll try to do our best to purchase them locally, but it's just not feasible because they're not going to grow any extra product because they know that we're not here to buy it this year,' Walker said. USDA cancels $1B funding for local food programs and schools, will hit Kansas farms He says the LFPA succeeded in its goal of enriching Kansas farmers. Keeping those dollars within state lines also encouraged those farmers to diversify their crops or grow a surplus. 'We were able to get a real fresh product to them. Most of the time, we picked it that morning,' Ron Jirak, with Jirak Brothers Produce, said. For Jirak, the surplus is around 10% of his crop. 'If we'd have known, say, back in October, November that this program wasn't going to be there, we just wouldn't have ordered plants and seed and materials for production in the Spring,' he said. The program's cancellation leaves food banks without the funds to buy the excess, putting producers into limbo. 'I have to find a place for the 10% now because I'm kind of locked into my production at this time,' Jirak said. Having extra products and nowhere to put them away hurts a supplier's bottom line and a distributor's clients. 'In the past, we were able to put that food on the table, they didn't have to buy it at the grocery store, and they could spend those dollars on other things,' Walker said. He says the food bank will have to ramp up its fundraising efforts without the additional federal funds. Jirak says that even though he's disappointed and expects to feel the loss, he's confident they'll pull through. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
