Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Flint Hills Breadbasket Inc on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 275
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We share how Flint Hills Breadbasket transformed into a grocery-style space that welcomes 800–900 families each week and why demand continues to rise. We also spotlight the Super Bowl food drive, our Valentine collaboration with Habitat and Shepherd’s Crossing, and the role of Grow Green Match Day in stabilizing support.
• rising demand after relocation and during government shutdown
• grocery-style, dignified shopping experience that eases fear
• volunteers, Knights of Columbus, and store partners enabling smooth drives
• Super Bowl food drive logistics across Dillons and Hy-Vee
• how to give if you cannot attend in person
• collaboration with Habitat and Shepherd’s Crossing on Valentine’s event
• how joint events expand reach and reduce duplication
• Grow Green Match Day as a key budget stabilizer
• guidance on healthier donation choices for pantry shelves
Super Bowl Saturday. Dillons locations and Hy-Vee collection efforts for soups, dry food, hygiene items. FlintHillsBreadbasket.org is where you can find out more and also help out financially if you are so inclined
Welcome Back And Big Changes
SPEAKER_01Philanthropy 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 News Radio KMAN. Welcome back to the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN. And Carla Hagemeister is back.
SPEAKER_00Good morning. Can't get rid of me. Hello.
SPEAKER_01Why would we want to?
SPEAKER_00I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Because the work you're doing at the Flint Hills Breadbasket is changing lives. It's impacting so many families. Yeah. Why? And you've made um my goodness, there's probably been as much change within the breadbasket as any nonprofit because of the new facility and a whole new process.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. It's been a busy uh few years, but this past year, especially since um about May of 2025 through now. It's been action-packed. Lots of stuff.
SPEAKER_01Are you going to have a one-year anniversary thing?
SPEAKER_00Oh, we'll probably take a nap if I were to be a guessing person.
SPEAKER_01No one would blame me for that.
SPEAKER_00No, it might be a good day to just chalk one up. We only had one day in between when we closed the old location to when we opened at the new location. So I think that we'll just look back at that and say, man, that's it's been a moment.
SPEAKER_01Thank God we did we're we're done with all that, huh?
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's only just beginning.
SPEAKER_01Oh, really?
SPEAKER_00If you think about it, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. You spend some time in a place, you figure out what works well, what you need to adjust, what um, how you can grow from there. Like you never stop. We never stop growing. We never stop thinking about how we can do what we do better. That it never ends.
Demand Surges And Why It’s Rising
SPEAKER_01Tell us about and give us an update on what the demand is for the people that you help.
SPEAKER_00We had a steady increase in demand as soon as we moved to our new location, which we knew we would happen. Um, and it came in steady over the summer, um, kind of like the frog in the pot that boils. You just feel it, and every week you go by and say, oh, that was a felt like a lot more people. Um, it really hit us in October during the government shutdown. We had a very large increase of number of guests that we were serving at that point. Um, October is going to be our high water mark for number of families served, but really we've maybe dropped down about a hundred families overall since that time. So we are serving somewhere in the 800 to 900 families every week right now.
SPEAKER_01Goodness.
SPEAKER_00Yes, it's a busy day.
SPEAKER_01How does that compare to where you were? I mean, has the location impacted that, or is it just uh uh a greater demand because of some of the things that have been happening politically?
SPEAKER_00So it's not the street address. Um, certainly the size and scope of the physical location, the fact that we can host so many more people at one time in a way that feels good, um, that we can have more shoppers and work more efficiently has allowed us to serve more people every day. But then at the same time, um, the need is there. More and more people are recognizing that need. And I think ultimately when um people come into some place like the breadbasket for the first time, there's a certain amount of apprehension. Um, going any place new carries with it some uncertainty and some fear. And so uh creating a space where people feel uh welcome, where it's not overwhelming, where although there is always activity happening, it's not overcrowded, it's not over stimulating. It makes some kind of sense that it just feels right, um, has allowed us to increase and then increase the number of people we're serving, but also have people feel comfortable coming back. And then, as with everything, word of mouth is always going to be your best advertisement. So people who need our services are oftentimes connected with other people who would benefit from our support. So it's really a big compliment to us when someone says, I'm going to bring my neighbor next week, or this is my friend, or my cousin, or my coworker, or whoever, and they bring that person along with them and almost usher them and act as their coach for how things operate at the breadbasket.
SPEAKER_01I um I'm gonna admit, I have not been to the new location yet. I drive by it every once in a while. It's you do.
SPEAKER_00I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_01Don't be unsold. You know?
SPEAKER_00There might be a dance that's required out of this.
SPEAKER_01Okay, so you want me to come visit you or not? You figure that out.
SPEAKER_00I got it. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01I I can I can do I I can do I got all kinds of disco moves. I know you do. Oh, it is just so hot. Um Jaina just turned white. Let's uh let's uh talk a little bit about um you know the experience that your shoppers have now because you created more from what I understand, more of a grocery store atmosphere as opposed to a warehouse type setting. And how has that been accepted?
SPEAKER_00I think it's just night and day, night and day for people to come in and and again it feels like a normal shopping experience. It's intuitive, it's respectful, it's normalizing, it it it does and should feel like what anybody else would experience going into a grocery store. So it's I think the way that we need to be moving things.
SPEAKER_01It's a it's a great vision.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's have a great team to make it happen. Lots of volunteers and community support made that possible.
SPEAKER_01Can we do another shout out to Steve Williams?
SPEAKER_00Always.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Every time he comes back to town to visit, we get a hug and a tear. So it's always a good time.
SPEAKER_01I bet so. I bet so. Let's uh talk a bit about something that's happening real soon. Super Bowl, not the game. Not the game. I uh kind of got uh engaged in this years ago when Bill uh Bill Kennedy came to the radio station and we talked about trying to get behind this and and uh what that has transitioned into is just fun and rewarding. So we're talking about the Super Bowl, which it's the Super Bowl with an O. That's right. Soup. That's right. S O U P-E-R bowl, and it ties in with the football game.
SPEAKER_00It does.
SPEAKER_01The big game of the year.
SPEAKER_00Right. So Bill Kennedy is still on that committee. Of course. I still get to enjoy that time with Bill. Um, it really comes through Knights of Columbus and Flint Hills Breadbasket. So the Knights of Columbus partner with us for this activity. They um help organize, help recruit volunteers. It's great for us. I love to have a partner and love to have another organization that enjoys doing that same thing.
SPEAKER_01Bill gets it done too, doesn't he?
Volunteers, Partners, And Community Trust
SPEAKER_00Bill and now Kevin Roberts and other members of that committee really have stepped up and they do. So whether it is a church organization, a business or schools, a civic group, anybody can participate during the Super Bowl time period to have a food drive. Um, they just need to contact us in regards to arranging for if they need boxes to collect things in, or if they need us to come and pick up or let us know that they're going to drop off. Um, really, the the high point of that event, though, is the Super Bowl food drive that happens on Saturday before the Super Bowl at both Dylan's locations and our High V location. So those grocery stores have been gracious and open up the inner sanctions of the vestibule as opposed to standing outside where it's depending on the day, it could be any number of cold and windy. Um so we will have volunteers at both Dylan's locations and High V on this upcoming Saturday, welcoming shoppers as they come in to get their Super Bowl party supplies, um, kind of giving them a warm welcome, a little slip that will tell them what sort of things we need at the breadbasket. So those folks can then just go into the store, do their shopping, pick up an extra thing or two for the breadbasket on their way out. They drop it off with our volunteers in the bins that are there, and it's done. Our our um our operations people will pick it up at the end of the day, and then our sorters will get hard to work with organizing all of that and getting it out to either our shelves or the shelves at the church pantries that we support.
SPEAKER_01That's a big collective effort.
SPEAKER_00It is a big collective effort, but it's made pretty easy because it's smooth and everybody comes in and does their part. We know what we're doing, everybody plays their part, everybody knows how they can step up and fill it in. And so it's no big individual lift on any one person, but it's a lot of fun.
Super Bowl Food Drive Overview
SPEAKER_01I am going to be out of town this weekend. So I'm not gonna be able to stop by either of the grocery stores. However, I'd like to help, and I bet there are others that are in the same boat that would like to help. So, how can we help Super Bowl if we're not um going to be going out shopping or going to church to sure or wherever it is where we have these collection points?
SPEAKER_00So if you're not physically able to uh drop something off or engage in one of those uh in-person drives, obviously anytime somebody can come by the Flint Hills bread basket and drop off a physical donation. But we also do financial contributions. And there is a link on our social media and on our website for this particular campaign. So we do like to separate things out sometimes into this campaign or that campaign just to help us know how we're doing over time. And so if you are interested in supporting us financially, you can use those links. We also have a Venmo account that makes it super easy. Um, and again, those are on our social media and our website.
SPEAKER_01And the website is Swamp Hillsbreadbasket.org.org. You got it. Well, it's always handy when it's right here on my sheet. You know, Felix does a pretty good job of getting all the notes together and we try to make it easy. You know, it's a team approach. So we get a lot of things down. So okay, so we've talked about Super Bowl. You also have another event that you're tying into, and it it's a perfect companion piece for you with Habitat for Humanity talking about uh Valentine's time.
How To Give: Stores, Drop-Offs, Online
SPEAKER_00That's right. Um, you know, you think, oh, it's not till February, and then poof, it's February. So Home is Where the Heart Is is an event that um Habitat for Humanity has traditionally held. It is on Valentine's Day. It is a great um event, a great night for you to be out with somebody, a friend, family, loved one, um, that includes your dinner, uh, live music, dancing, and just a good time. Historically, Habitat for Humanity has taken that on themselves and it's an event for them. Over the last few years, though, us, the nonprofit world, has been talking more and more with each other about the need to collaborate and the need to see where we can combine things, where we can work together, where we can increase our own audiences by working together. And so this year, Habitat opened up the event and invited the breadbasket and Shepherd's Crossing to join with them. So for the first time, it will be a joint adventure of a great evening. So it holds the same structure, but we're wanting to increase just that awareness and that attendance. Hopefully, we'll be able to attract more people to come and have a great time, but also realize and understand that us as organizations, we as organizations don't work contrary to each other. We work collaboratively and complementary to each other. So Shepherd's Crossing is helping people through an immediate crisis, rent or medication or utility shutoff. The breadbasket is increasing stability for a family, might be a little bit more longer term that's helping them save some money on groceries so that they can be more stable in the long term. And then Habitat for Humanity obviously is helping people towards homeownership. So although we have different target populations, it could be any of those populations that we could be all serving at one time or one of us at one time and somebody else. Um, so really wanting to highlight within the community that that supporting one of our organizations really oftentimes supports all of our organizations and that we do really work together and see each other as part of a whole structure in the community.
SPEAKER_01Well, it's uh coming up on the 14th.
SPEAKER_00It is coming up on the 14th. You can purchase tickets um online. The Habitat for Humanity is the main driver of those tickets. So you can go on to their social media, the breadbasket social media, Shepherd's Crossing social media. It will all of those places will link to it. Um again, it's a great time. It is also, we've been telling people, it is Valentine's Day, it is Manhattan High School or Manhattan's subdev night, which means your odds are getting a nice quiet dinner on Valentine's Day in Manhattan are pretty slim. So, really, if you want to have a guaranteed good meal and a good time with some live music and fun people. Thundering cats. The thundering cats come on out, a little dance lesson. Um, it will be a great time. And so we hope people will pick up tickets um the sooner the better and join us for a great time.
SPEAKER_01Well, my now wife and I went last year and we just had a wonderful time. It was a great date night. So unfortunately, we're gonna be out of town this weekend, that weekend.
SPEAKER_00I have told Josh that if you've convinced me to not be in sweatpants after dark in February, it had better be a good time. And I bought a dress this weekend. Oh, I made my 17-year-old go shopping with me. So I mean Is it red? No, I'll save that, but it's not red. And uh there was just minimal bribing, and and she was pretty nice about it. So I'll brag on her for that one.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00Side note being that if I am going to an event on Valentine's Day, I am not available to take pictures of her at Subdeb.
SPEAKER_01Good to know. Good to know.
Home Is Where The Heart Is Collaboration
SPEAKER_00But it is a busy night, so uh really for a really nice evening out with somebody that you want to spend time with, they're just friends.
SPEAKER_01Let's talk about just real quickly Grow Green Match Day. And I don't know if we're gonna have you in before then or not, but that's always a big day for the Flint Hills Breadbasket. What's that mean for to you?
SPEAKER_00I think that for organizations like the breadbasket, Grow Green Match Day has become to us something of a stabilizer. Um, it's something that we know that our community looks forward to. They know it's in their calendar, they know that it's important to us. And so we know that um in a world where things are are very volatile, um, we really do start to look at that for budgeting purposes, for knowing that there's going to be certain pockets of stability. And so I think that events like like like Grow Green Day really do gain in importance over the years as we um as we see just again how how things fluctuate and how needs in the community have risen. This is a really good, impactful way for the community to respond. And also, I think um in any conversation I have about with people who are new to the breadbasket or new maybe to philanthropy in general, they think that we get our dollars through through the state or through federal funds or through some huge dollar donors. And in reality, most nonprofits, including the breadbasket, our day-to-day is paid for by the many, many, many people who contribute$25. And all of those things come together in order to make that bigger lift for us possible.
SPEAKER_01She's Carla Hagemeister. We want to remind you that coming up Saturday, Super Bowl Saturday. Super Bowl Saturday. Dylan's locations in High V collection efforts for soups.
SPEAKER_00Soups, dry food, hygiene items, whatever else anybody wants to use. Nope. We go broad and broad and broad and wide.
SPEAKER_01So if I wanted to donate some ramen noodles, you'll take it.
SPEAKER_00We'll take it. I might raise my eyebrows at you because we like to encourage healthy foods. Oh, okay. All right.
SPEAKER_01Ramen, ramen noodles aren't healthy.
SPEAKER_00A little bit of salt there.
SPEAKER_01Oh, okay. All right. Kraft mac and cheese. Okay. All right.
SPEAKER_00We're pushing for some good healthy foods.
SPEAKER_01Let's go with Progresso and Campbell's. There you go. All right. Well, it's a delight to have you in. Good luck on Saturday, and uh thanks for joining us. Always. Thank you so much. Flynn Hillsbreadbasket.org is where you can find out more and also help out financially if you are so inclined, which we encourage everybody to do when they uh have that opportunity. When we come back from the break, uh we're going to be visiting with Jeff Sackrider, who today is representing WTC. And uh they last year were the Business Philanthropy Award winner at the CFA. So we'll find out about uh that experience and how that's uh impacted them uh from a different different number of different uh perspectives. Uh reminder next Monday, beginning at 9 a.m., the GMCF Community Hour will be on KMAN and the nine o'clock hour. So we'll be back after the break with Jeff Sackrider here on news radio KMAN.