The status quo has passed its expiration date

Kansas City has a hunger problem. What we don’t have is a food problem.

In reality, we have more than 100,000,000 pounds of good, high-quality fresh food that never reaches tables, every. year.

We should be asking: how is that okay?

This estimated 100 million pounds of food is going to waste in the Kansas City region while, in tandem, 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 4 children go without.

This is a reality we should not accept.

Surplus food cannot move itself. But we can. Together.

If it was easy, we wouldn’t be in this situation, especially when we consider how fresh food has a mercilessly short shelf life. But it’s possible. To distribute it, perishable inventory requires complex logistics like trucks, refrigeration, warehouse space and collaboration, with drivers, volunteers, stores, and community partners.

Today, Kanbe’s is building the infrastructure rooted in partnership to lay the foundation for that system's change.

The food is here and the need is now. This is our opportunity.

When Kanbe’s recovers good surplus food and moves it into Kansas City neighborhoods through local small businesses, community organizations, and healthcare systems, we turn what would have been waste into fresh food that families can afford and communities can access.

This is what a better food system can look like – less waste, more nourishment, and more of our community’s resources reaching the people who need them.

We do not have to accept a future where nutritious food is thrown away while some families go without. We can use what we already have more wisely, more responsibly, while improving what already exists. We can build the connections, infrastructure, and partnerships needed to live in a city where everyone has enough to eat.

We can do it today, but we have to do it together.