Kansas City Food Bank Needs Volunteers This Week
Harvesters Community Food Network has so much fresh food to give away that they need immediate volunteer help to distribute it before it spoils. Anyone 12 and up can sign up for two-hour shifts to help feed hungry families across 27 counties.
A Kansas City food bank is facing the best kind of problem: they have too much fresh food and need volunteers right now to help get it to families before it goes bad.
Harvesters Community Food Network received an overwhelming amount of bread and fresh produce donations this week. The organization now needs extra hands to sort and distribute the perishable items across their 27-county service area in Missouri and Kansas before the food spoils.
"We are incredibly grateful for the generosity that caused us to have so much inventory on hand," said Valerie Nicolson-Watson, President and CEO of Harvesters. The challenge now is making sure every loaf of bread and every piece of fresh produce reaches someone who needs it in time.
The timing couldn't be more critical. Summer is one of the busiest seasons for food banks, when families with school-age children lose access to free breakfast and lunch programs. That means demand for food assistance spikes just as donations typically slow down.
Volunteering is simple and accessible. No experience or training is required, and shifts last just two hours. Anyone 12 years old and up can help, though younger teens need an adult with them.
The Kansas City location offers shifts at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with bonus evening shifts at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. The Lawrence location has morning and afternoon options Tuesday through Friday.
The Ripple Effect
When volunteers show up to sort fresh food, they're doing more than saving groceries from waste. They're ensuring families can put healthy meals on the table during a time when budgets are already stretched thin. Fresh produce and bread are staples that many food-insecure families struggle to afford, making these donations especially valuable.
Community response to food assistance needs has been strong. The same generosity that created this abundance of donations will help distribute it to neighbors who need it most.
Interested volunteers can sign up online at Harvesters' website or call 816-929-3000 to reserve a shift.
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This story was written by BrightWire based on verified news reports.
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