Date started
May 1979
Website
What’s the story behind your organization?
In the 1970s, immense amounts of nutritious food were being thrown into landfills even as Kansas City struggled to fight hunger among its citizens. Grocery stores were forced to dispose of food whose sell by date was approaching. There was no system for getting that food to the people who needed it. In 1979, a coalition of business people, faith leaders, and social service agencies came together to form Harvesters – The Community Food Network.
Why is your organization important to the community?
Harvesters is important to the community because our mission is to feed hungry people today and work to end hunger tomorrow. As a food bank, we have the ability to acquire, store and distribute millions of pounds of food every year to our partner agency network. These partners help feed 141,500 people in our community every month.
Who do you support?
We support our network of more than 760 pantries, kitchens and shelters who get food to hungry families, children, and seniors in our 26-county service area of northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas.
How many volunteers do you currently have (estimate)?
2,500/month
What is your biggest need right now?
We are in need of food donations, volunteers and monetary donations year-round. To learn more about each opportunity, visit www.harvesters.org.
What else should we know about what you do?
Harvesters also educates others about hunger in our community and works with local, state, and federal lawmakers to ensure strong policies are in place to support hungry people.
