Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 225
The Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan serves as a network hub bringing together partners to address persistent food insecurity issues, reduce food waste, and support local farms. Riley County consistently ranks among the highest counties for food insecurity nationwide, with approximately 13-14% of residents affected and 2,700 people currently receiving SNAP benefits.
• Council consists of 15 volunteers who serve three-year terms with Vicki James as coordinator
• Goals include reducing food insecurity, minimizing food waste, and supporting local farms
• Riley County has consistently held the title as one of the highest food-insecure counties nationally
• One in six children and one in seven adults in Riley County are affected by hunger
• Recent federal legislation threatens significant cuts to SNAP funding
• Many funding cuts that were strategically planned for 2026-2027, after the midterm elections
• States may need to make funding differences to maintain SNAP benefits
• "Blessing Box Stock the Box Challenge" encourages groups to stock emergency food boxes
• Participating groups receive $100 to restock boxes again
• Power Produce program at Farmers Market educates children while providing fresh food access
• Volunteer opportunities and donations accepted through nourishtogether.org
For those interested in volunteering or donating, visit the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation website or nourishtogether.org, or email rileycountyfoodandfarmcouncil.com to get connected.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour as heard on NewsRadio KMAN, and we are back with segment number three on the GMCF Community Hour here on NewsRadio KMAN. The Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan, kansas, is quite a title, but the amount of work that they do on behalf of folks in the community is absolutely amazing and we want to give you a little bit better insight on what all the efforts include. Vicki James is the coordinator and, vicki, you've appeared on here before and welcome back to the GMCF Community Hour.
Speaker 2:Thank you, dave, and Greater Manhattan Community Foundation for having us. It's always good to chat with you.
Speaker 1:It is Well and you know, we may mention the name, but I think a lot of people don't understand what it all means. But there are a lot of players in this effort.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's kind of complicated and I think we're still one of those groups that's not a household name. I could go talk to a group and share and I ask them to raise their hands. How many people know about us and what we do? And maybe it's a third of the group that I'm talking to. So opportunities like this to share are helpful. Our name infers what it actually is, that this is a city, county appointed advisory council and yet we have no financial support from them but we're just advisors. So what this group is is 15 volunteers and they serve three year terms. They can re-up after that and I serve as their coordinator.
Speaker 2:It's kind of my background doing this sort of community work. Basically, what we are is a network hub. We bring together partners that work in the food system and try to assess what are the issues, what kind of things can we do with partners to create solutions just to make this a better place to live. Related to food system Advocacy is becoming a big thing, but our three goals are to reduce food insecurity, or at least as much as we can, to reduce food waste and to support our local farms and farm businesses. So that's a pretty big ask of a volunteer organization kind of complex. We've been here since 2018, and we have nine different programs that we work with our partners to assess and implement, and so we're always switching that up to help not fix anything completely, but kind of plug the dike, if you will, for some needs in the food system.
Speaker 1:You know, a lot of people are aware that we do have a lot of food insecurity concerns here within Manhattan and Riley County. It may not be obvious to a lot but when we talk with folks, like you know, from the Flint Hills, red Masket or whatever you know Be Able, the emergency shelter etc. There is a high percentage of individuals in Riley County and Riley County is among the state's leaders and this is not something to brag about, but it's one of the highest ranking counties in Kansas when it comes to food insecurity, with a very high percentage of individuals that are in that figure into that club.
Speaker 2:You're right. I wish that was a statistic that we didn't own. The sad part, dave, we've owned that for years and years and years. In fact, we are one of the few counties across the United States that has consistently held that title as being one of the highest food insecure counties, held that title as being one of the highest food insecure counties not just in our state but across the country, for so many years. So when you look at that it's like wow, this is something that's multi-generational, it's very complex and it's not going to be resolved by one group, by one pantry, by one meal program, by one assistance program. It's very, very complex and it's just gotten bigger and bigger with some federal legislation that's taken place lately.
Speaker 2:So, yes, we have anywhere from 13 to 14% food insecurity here. One out of six children are affected by hunger, one out of seven adults, and so in Riley County we have 2,700 on SNAP, which is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. So that's really significant. I always get asked is this because of having a military base or a university? And the answer is no. You can look at the data and are those a factor? Yes, they are a factor, but it's not because of that. So it's just so complex, and I wish that our community could embrace the fact that this is not a temporary thing, or because of those two things, and that we all need to come together and help be part of the solution and that we all need to come together and help be part of this solution.
Speaker 1:Well, and becoming part of the solution seems to be something that's going to be a greater ask of the community, because there has been a lot of federal funding that has been channeled through the efforts of the Food and Farm Council and the SNAP program. That's obviously one that is of great concern now, with many of the federal cutbacks that we have seen. How are you navigating those waters?
Speaker 2:Well, the first thing I want to say about that is HR 1, the OBBB. Some call it the One Big Beautiful Bill. I have other names for it, but we won't go there today. How about that today? How about that?
Speaker 2:I think one of the things that the council talks about and we talk about with our partners is that we have to stay strong. All of the social service agencies, our folks that are growing our food locally, our council that's trying to help our frontline partners. We have to stay strong and stay on track and keep trying to move forward with our goal to assist those that are food insecure, low income and have a lot of challenges. So we used to think part of the role was oh, the SNAP application is complex to get through. Now we're concerned. There won't be a SNAP application. There won't be that. What will we do? So I would say to our partners and to individuals Figure out where you can plug in and help, whether it's financial, whether it's volunteerism, whether it's connecting with state and federal legislators. Know who those are and keep talking to them. Listen to your neighbors and understand their stories and what's going on. So right now we're trying to be patient until we know the full impact what the bill actually says and how that will roll out. A lot of things that will happen will not happen in 2025. So I'm a little concerned that people are going to go see it wasn't any big deal. Well, some of that is purposely laid out, dave. So it's not going to happen until 2026 or into 27. And part of that is because there will be the midterm elections in 2026. So we're asking people to stay alert and stay in touch with what's going on, because we will be called to action in this community to try and see what we can do locally, statewide and federally.
Speaker 2:One of the things that may happen most likely is that states are going to have to make up the difference and do a shared process if we're going to keep SNAP in the state of Kansas. So that puts a big burden on Kansas. We're going to have to talk to our state legislators and help them understand why we really need to keep SNAP. If it's not going to be able to be funded federally, how can we make that happen in the state?
Speaker 2:I think people don't realize that. Not only is it going to affect all of our neighbors that are low income, that are SNAP eligible and on this program, but there's an economic impact. When those folks go shopping, it's about a dollar and a half per dollar they spent. That's going to go into the local economies. So it's a spin that we really need to think about. So I'm asking all of us yeah, we need to vent our fear, our frustration, maybe a little bit of anger, but we also need to be prepared to listen, learn, be advocates and speak up, because we're going to be all call to action to try to support however we can Volunteer, donate, call your legislators.
Speaker 1:And Vicki, it sounds like you know there's so much to anticipate yet, but the unknown is what is you know do to put things back together and to make sure that we take care of those individuals that are in need? Do you have some perspective on what that may look like?
Speaker 2:Well you hit the nail on the head may look like Well you hit the nail on the head. I think we're going to have to look again. Can our state afford to do the shared process to keep SNAP, or is it going to make deeper cuts? So then, if it does, what do we do with the folks that aren't going to be able to have SNAP? It's going to mean that we're going to have to support our local pantries more because they're already super busy. I mean the breadbasket and cat's cupboard. Both are doing a great job, but their numbers could really increase. Common table their numbers could really increase.
Speaker 2:We may need to look at other programs, the blessing boxes, which is one of the programs the Food and Farm Council oversees each of those boxes I believe we have 27 now in the county, most of them in Manhattan but some in the rural areas those the sponsors can't keep those stocked. I mean those are going to be even a heavier need. So I wanna share with you. We have something right now, not one way people can help. It's called the Blessing Box Stock, the Box Challenge, and what that is is if a group right now will go and stock a box and take pictures and post them on our Blessing Box, raleigh County in Manhattan Facebook page. Then we have a grant to give $100 back to that group to go do it all over again.
Speaker 2:So we've had 12 groups, I think, participate in the last few weeks and what we're trying to do, dave, is raise awareness. I think what has happened is people say, oh, I didn't know where those boxes were, I didn't know who sponsored those, I didn't know how those could be done. So we're challenging people if you go to the store and you have the funds to buy five extra dollars, 10 extra dollars of things, take them and put them in a box and stock the box. And if we all could do that more, that's one area that would help, because I think those are a 24, seven outdoor, no questions asked place where people can get shelf stable items. They can also get personal hygiene items, things that people need all the time. So we encourage people to go to the Blessing Box of Riley County in Manhattan Facebook page and read about that and stock the box and we will give you a gift card to go back and do it again. So it's little things like that.
Speaker 1:Is that something you encourage civic organizations, other private entities, social groups and churches to participate in?
Speaker 2:Yes, yep, I mean it could be. It could be, you know, if there's a neighborhood group that gets together. So it could be that informal, or it could be as formal as a business, or it could be certainly a civic organization. The hope is that it raises awareness. And what might happen after our grant's gone and we can't give everyone $100 to do it again, is that they'll say you know, this isn't that difficult, we could do this once a month, we could do it every quarter, and if more people did that, it's one way to help. Same thing if people donate their funds or their time to pantries and to the shelters and to the common table meal program. Those are all support systems. They're not a cure-all. None of them can stand alone and fix where we're at with food insecurity. But all of those together make a difference. One of the other things is there is probably going to happen that SNAP-Ed, so the educational component of SNAP is going to be lost in this big beautiful bill, quote unquote. And what that means, dave, is that food may go to people, but if there's not education with how to shop, how to store that food, how to prepare that food, how to be food safe, then I think we've really, really missed the boat. I mean, it takes more than food to end hunger and for people to be their best selves.
Speaker 2:So one of the things the Food and Farm Council has done is try to implement programs that have education Our kids program. If you and Sherilyn go to the farmer's market on Saturday in the summer, come by the Power Produce booth. So this is an example of somewhere you can volunteer and donate time and money. For 12 weeks, kids ages 4 to 12 can stop by the Power Produce booth and they taste fruits and vegetables fresh fruits and vegetables and then they earn and they do an activity and then they earn four one dollar tokens and they can use those. Those are basically like cash and they can go purchase their own fruits and vegetables. Many of the people that attend that are some of our lower income, food insecure families not all, but some and what we're told is this is one of the best ways that families are educating each other, kids and adults and getting used to enjoying the market and eating more fruits and vegetables. So we're always looking for volunteers and funds to keep that alive. It's an economic impact to the market because if the family comes because their kids want to do that. They're going to shop other places too, so we've been seeing over 100, 110 kids every week this summer.
Speaker 2:The first week, we did blender bikes. If you know what a blender bike is, you did blender bikes. If you know what a blender bike is, you get on a bike and you pedal basically a blender that's got goodies in it and then you get to drink a smoothie. That was our first week. At the end of the season we're going to do it again with another thing. I'll surprise you with what that's going to be, but those are the educational components we don't want to lose. We've got to keep helping our families with how to continue to try to learn and eat healthy.
Speaker 1:Vicki, we just have a few seconds left here in the show, but let's put out a plug for people who would like to volunteer or make a donation to the Food and Farm Council.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, thank you to the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation, which is wonderful and serves as our fiscal sponsor. If you just go to the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation website or our website, which is nourishtogetherorg, and click on donate, look for Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan and you certainly can donate online. Tells you how to provide a check online. Tells you how to provide a check and you can volunteer by either looking at nourishtogetherorg under volunteerism or write me at rileycountyfoodandfarmcouncilorg. Rileycountyfoodandfarmcouncilorg. Or com, sorry, and that will take you to me and we'll get you hooked up with whatever you individually or civic organization want to do to help out.
Speaker 2:So, basically just help the community.
Speaker 1:Vicki James is with the Food and Farm Council of Riley County in the city of Manhattan. Their website again, nourishtogetherorg. We'll draw a conclusion to the show with our usual step in giving you some ideas and what you could do here the next few days with our community activities, and then also a preview of next week's show on the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAM.