K-State Research and Extension News Service
MANHATTAN – Officials with a Kansas State University program that helps to increase access to affordable and healthy food in Kansas say they hit an impressive milestone in 2022.
The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative announced in mid-May that it provided more than a half million dollars -- $540,864 – to fund 16 projects in the state.
“We’re excited about the amount of funding we were able to provide through the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative,” said Rial Carver, project leader for the Rural Grocery Initiative, a partner of KHFI. “The funds supported a variety of projects, including grocery stores, mobile food markets, meat processors, and a hydroponic farm.”
The grant and loan funding went towards purchasing new equipment such as freezers, coolers, and shelving; point of sale system upgrades; and helped a new store purchase its starting inventory.
The projects funded in 2022 include:
●Almena Market, Almena
●Axtell Community Grocery, Axtell
●Bar H. Fresh Farms, Oakley
●Ediger's Foods, Caldwell
●Fall River Market, Fall River
●Goessel Grocery & Deli, Goessel
●Greenleaf General Store, Greenleaf
●Hidden Hill Farms, Auburn
●K & W Meat Processing, Natoma
●La Hacienda, Arkansas City
●Leafy Green Farms, Pittsburg
●Main Street Market & Deli, Stafford
●Perry's Pork Rinds and Country Store, Bronson
●SPK Grocery, Harper
●The Pit Stop, Lewis
●Victory Gardens, Maize
Carver estimates that the awards will serve nearly 43,000 Kansas residents in 16 counties.
KHFI is a partnership of The Kansas Health Foundation, K-State Research and Extension, NetWork Kansas, IFF, and The Food Trust. In 2017, the Kansas Health Foundation seeded the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative, a healthy food financing initiative that supports projects aiming to increase access to healthy food at the retail level in low-resource and underserved areas of Kansas.
Since 2018, KHFI has funded more than 60 projects across Kansas, totaling more than $3.8 million. A full list of funded projects, and more information, can be found at https://kansashealthyfood.org.