Kansas Food Bank to open a new facility in Garden City

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Residents of western Kansas struggling with food insecurity can expect more help in the coming months.

Kansas Food Bank is opening a new facility in Garden City to better help the communities in the western part of the state.

Those communities currently receive one shipment of supplies every month delivered directly from the warehouse in Wichita. Once the Garden City facility opens up, KFB hopes to increase that number to at least two shipments per month.

Kansas Food Bank President and CEO Brian Walker expects that the products they deliver will be much improved as well.

“One of the things we want to do out here is provide more fresh produce because a number of our clients we serve have high blood pressure or heart disease, so we want to be able to make sure we can supply them with fresh produce and good protein. With this facility, we’re going to be able to do a better job with that,” said Walker.

Walker also believes that it’s becoming increasingly important that residents receive the support they need because of the damaging effects of inflation.

“Last year, we were looking at 1 in 10 citizens who were food insecure, and this year, we’re looking at 1 in 7. We’re also looking at the cost of a meal going up to $4.05 when it was $3.65 last year. We’re just seeing increases, and we’re not seeing any decreases, so I think with inflation, it’s just really hurting folks,” said Walker.

The new facility will begin delivering food sometime in August, and KFB hopes the warehouse will be fully operational within one year.

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