NourishKC

NourishKC is striving to end food insecurity while promoting healthy food access every day. Our KCCK serves more than a warm meal, it provides a sense of community, consistent structure, and acknowledges the value of each person through our Dining with Dignity approach.  NourishKC has strong relationships with our core volunteers, as many have been a part of KCCK efforts for years. We coach our volunteers to provide individual guest services and consistent kitchen functions so that guests feel valued while enjoying a healthy meal. Through community supports, volunteers, our Board of Directors, and donors NourishKC will continue to collaborate with other food access partners to address systemic food insecurity in the metro area.

Our community kitchen currently serves lunch 5 days a week. Meals are served restaurant-style with guests getting a choice of entree and sides, being served by volunteer "wait staff" and being asked what they like or don't like. We eventually want to expand that program to 7 days a week in more a community diner/restaurant environment. We'd eventually like to see this become a network of "pantries" that feel more like a neighborhood corner store with strategic locations all over the metro.  The Board of Directors is exploring ways to advance our culinary training program in 2020, as we suspended its efforts for 2019.  The staff and board are also strategizing towards longer term goals through fundraising, infrastructure, policies, and sustainability to serve Kansas City area beyond 2020.

NourishKC has a team of 7 staff members devoted to various aspects of operations and program management. Our community kitchen is staffed by people with experience in restaurants and other commercial kitchens, and administrative staff have years of experience in their respective fields, from accounting to program management. The Board of Directors has a wide array of expertise to oversee the impact of established goals while adapting to the community needs based on organizational capacity.  Our staff and board members have been fortunate to attend sessions at the Kansas Leadership Center during the past two years to learn active leadership through coaching and training. This learning opportunity has guided the Board and staff to adjust its daily efforts towards forward movement. Perhaps our greatest strength is our willingness and ability to build relationships with other organizations and collaboratively work on things beyond what any one of us is able to do on our own. Whole Food, Farm to Market Bread and other local companies donate food to us on a regular basis for use in our community kitchen, but then other companies like Harrah's, Citi, BlueScope Steel, Bayer, Cargill and KCPD send groups of volunteers on a regular basis so that our guests are served in a way that offers dignity.  Another deep capacity of NourishKC is PEOPLE. The historic and new networks of volunteers is the breathe that keeps NourishKC feeding 400 people daily. The Board and staff are working to recruit more corporate, small business, and civic groups to learn how two hours of time truly impact a hungry person. Volunteer appreciation, regular communication, group incentives, and other supports are being developed for the Kansas City Community Kitchen's long-term success.

This year NourishKC is focusing on transition processes and rebuilding measures for the Kansas City Community Kitchen while strategizing long-term programs for 2020. As noted by our Board of Directors, we are focusing our fundraising efforts to make headwinds to our sustainability and impact. Our working board and thousands of volunteers make every effort to assist in getting nutritious food to Kansas City community members.