Dietary & Food Access
Food insecurity spans both sides of the state line, and so do the organizations addressing it, from a 27-county regional food bank to a corner-store distribution model its founders call the first of its kind in the country.
Cross-Lines Community Outreach
Founded in 1963 in Kansas City, Kansas, Cross-Lines has served Wyandotte County for more than six decades, running a food pantry that lets clients choose groceries using a points system scaled to household size rather than handing out pre-packed bags. Daily visits rose from roughly 30 to 40 people before the pandemic to more than 100 a day by 2023.
The Giving Grove
The Giving Grove started as a grassroots orchard project in Kansas City in 2013 before its founders began replicating the model nationally in 2017. It now supports more than 847 volunteer-tended orchards across sixteen U.S. cities, all tracing back to the original Kansas City program run through Kansas City Community Gardens.
Harvesters — The Community Food Network
Harvesters is the regional food bank for a 27-county area spanning northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas, supplying more than 700 nonprofit partner agencies, pantries, shelters, and children's homes, on both sides of the state line from its Kansas City and Lawrence offices.
Kanbe's Markets
Kanbe's Markets, founded in Kansas City in 2018, runs what it calls the first distribution model of its kind in the country: sourcing reclaimed produce, running it through a 'triple inspect' quality process, and consigning it into corner and convenience stores inside USDA-designated food deserts across the metro, including its more recent expansion into Kansas City, Kansas.