Kansas Local Food Summit participants take a lunch break during the Aug. 28, 2024, event at the Kansas Leadership Center and Kansas Health Institute offices in Wichita. The inaugural summit brought people from across the state together to discuss food insecurity and waste. (AJ Dome for Kansas Reflector)
WICHITA — Food experts in Kansas say food waste is a growing problem in the state and solutions to food insecurity may lie within local connections.
ICT Food Rescue executive director Stephanie Merritt, in a presentation Wednesday at the inaugural Kansas Local Food Summit in Wichita, said food waste and food insecurity are two concerns that go together. Merritt’s organization gathers edible food that would be wasted in the Wichita metro area and redistributes it to 16 nonprofit organizations, including homeless shelters and recovery homes that serve people suffering from food insecurity.
More than 30 other Wichita-area groups are on a waiting list to receive food products from ICT Food Rescue. The agency was established in 2016, and Merritt said the nonprofit now features an Upcycle Kitchen housed in a church where an in-house chef reuses mail-delivery meals and fresh ingredients for clients in need. More than 50 volunteers “rescue” food every 48 hours from about 50 participating restaurants, nurseries, markets and caterers, Merritt said.