Hey there produce pals! It's hard to believe it's already time for our first quarter update. Time really flies when you're busy making things happen! Over the last few months, we achieved our January and February redirection goals, thanks to the Chiefs' superbowl momentum, we've added two new incredible Hunger Relief Partners, and we've opened 2 new Healthy Corner Store locations. Read about all that and more below!!
Community in Action
Kansas City shows their love for our city ❤️
The impact our extraordinary volunteers make in our community cannot be overstated. Our warehouse has been buzzing with joy and sick beats over several produce sorting events! The standout? Our Red Friday Super Sort, kicking off the Super Bowl weekend with KC's first win, the one where we united to tackle food waste. It's inspiring to be part of a city where community love runs deep.
Here are some amazing stats on the produce we recovered from that event:
A total of 5,097 pounds saved from the landfill by 41 volunteers in one day! KC we love you!
We are on track having redirected approximately 11% of our goal to redirect 1 million pounds of produce. Our Kanbe's community redirected 54,395 pounds of produce in January and 60,771 poundsin February. Bigger goals ahead for March, Volunteer with us!
Expanding our reach! Introducing two of our newest Hunger Relief Partners!
Hunger Relief Partners food is given for FREE! Support us, so we can continue to support them.
Welcoming the First Two Stores of 2024, Nearing Our 75-Store Goal!
With the installation of our coolers in these new locations, we've extended our reach to an additional 3,983 individuals residing within these zip codes, who now have the choice to shop for fruits and vegetables.
Meet Love! Loveless Jones has been a dedicated member of the Kanbe's team for over three years now. His journey with us began in a role that's undeniably pivotal to Kanbe's: as a driver, delivering nutritious fruits and vegetables to neighborhoods that lacked conventional grocery stores.
“Many of the people that hung around our healthy corner store locations started to call me the fruit guy." - Love
Thanks to Love's outstanding performance and work ethic, coupled with the generous funding from MARC Solid Waste Management District, he was propelled to the newly created role.
Reflecting on his childhood, Love fondly remembers the comforting aroma of his uncle's Saturday morning cube steak and biscuits, as well as his mother's cherished rice pudding recipe. On a perfect day in Kansas City you'll find Love immersing himself in a marathon of Madden on his Xbox, and getting some food from one of his favorite spots. He has a strong passion for supporting local, neighborhood businesses, favoring mom and pop spots like King's Table, Nieces, and Lufti's.
If you ever bump into him, don't forget to give a shoutout to the “fruit guy” and say thanks for all the good he's doing.
Have you heard about Kanbe's Markets Ugly Dinner Series? This extraordinary dinner series is a hallmark of our programming. Check out the amazing video by Daisy Bolin for a taste!
The Ugly Dinner Series is now in its third year! And the 2024 line up is certainly delicious! We're excited to share that our March Ugly Dinner hosted at Of Course Kitchen & Company has officially sold out. Stay tuned as we announce our next dinner, coming in April!
