Well into our second decade of service, the Kansas City Food Circle is a volunteer driven, membership and donation-financed organization created to promote the development of a permanently sustainable local food system. It is a part of Heart of America Action Linkage, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation in Missouri. We serve the greater Kansas City area (eaters and growers in Missouri, Kansas, and nearby communities in Nebraska and Iowa) providing an alternative to the conventional agricultural system, which is dependent on practices that are neither good for our personal health nor for the health of the living world of which we are part.
The Kansas City Food Circle is building a community food system in which farmers, eaters, chefs, and grocers know and trust each other. Our network enables us to share our knowledge and experience while we work together promoting the benefits of locally-grown organic and free-range foods. Our primary purpose remains to support farmers in our region who strive to produce delicious, nourishing food, use environmentally-sound, organic methods that restore and preserve the health of the land and who treat their animals far more humanely than industrial animal factories.
Our History
The predecessor of the KC Food Circle, called the Organic Connection, was originated by the Greater Kansas City Greens in 1988 at the urging of Ben Kjelshus who remains on our Coordinating Committee. The first few years were devoted to finding organic farmers in our region and holding conferences to introduce them to consumers (we prefer to call ourselves “eaters”). In 1994, again at Ben’s suggestion, we changed our name to the Kansas City Food Circle. We established a hotline phone number that people could call for information, and began publishing our Directory of Local Organic and Free Range Food Producers.
The EXPOs - In March of 1999 we held a major conference on the food system that was substantially financed by the Sierra Club. We decided to set up a separate room nearby, invited a few farmers to show their stuff, and advertised in the local newspaper. So many people showed up that one could hardly fit into the room. The rest is history.
Last year more than two thousand people attended our two locations in the metro area on both sides of the Missouri River. In 2014 we are moving to a new Kansas venue, the BIG SPACE at Johnson County Community College (JCCC).
Outreach
If you would like someone from the Kansas City Food Circle to speak to a group of which you are a member, please call our hotline at 913-620-8427 or send an e-mail to [email protected]
We also organize workshops (held at our Expos and elsewhere) on food sustainable system themes. We continue to expand our outreach and educational efforts by coordinating with many other like-minded organizations in and around the greater Kansas City area. We also have Facebook page, a Blog Spot and a Bulletin Board. You can also sign up for our eList updates.
EXAMPLE: On Sunday, March 3rd, 2013, KC Food Circle Co-Coordinator, Emily Akins, and our Membership Chair, Brandi Schoen, were featured at the All Souls Forum. Click here for a podcast link to a How to Eat Local in Kansas City presentation in Sound Cloud with the accompanying .PDF slideshow to page-down/page-up through as you listen to the podcast.
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How You Can Get Involved
- Our mission is supported by membership fees and donations. We would be happy to have you join us in our work, whether through contributions of money, time, or both. See: Membership.
- If you would like to learn about the benefits of eating locally grown foods and get some helpful hints on how to get started, you’ll find that information in the final section of the Producer’s Directory.
- If you are a health professional who would like to encourage your clients to eat a local, organic, and free-range diet, see our Health and Wellness Contributorship page, or contact Wellness[email protected] for more information.
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If you need additional assistance, always feel free to email [email protected] or call 913-620-8427
Your support is greatly appreciated.
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