Hunger in South-Central Kansas
This report highlights strategies to address hunger in South-Central Kansas. Thank you to all those who shared their powerful experiences and insights to help make this report possible.
Published 2022-05-09To analyze hunger in South-Central Kansas, Kansas Appleseed focused on data and community insights from the following counties: Barber, Butler, Comanche, Cowley, Edwards, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Marion, McPherson, Pratt, Reno, Sedgwick, Stafford, and Sumner. According to the report, low SNAP participation, state policy, and transportation issues are key barriers to addressing hunger in Southeast Kansas.
“It’s imperative to center Kansans—who are experts in their experiences—to build policy solutions,” Tajahnaé Stocker, Kansas Appleseed Thriving Advocate said. “Kansans’ hard truths and experiences with hunger guide the fight for fair policies that reflect our state’s needs. Barriers such as limited SNAP food assistance, transportation and food pantry access can be addressed through state and community-level investment and community-level.”
Despite being the largest and most effective program for reducing hunger, SNAP participation has decreased consistently in the region while food insecurity grew. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, over 125,000 South-Central Kansans experienced food insecurity. At the same time, less than 76,000 people in the region had access to SNAP food assistance.
To reduce hunger in South-Central Kansas, the report recommends undoing legislative barriers that make it harder for Kansans to put food on the table, expanding transportation solutions, implementing best practices at food pantries, and making SNAP more accessible through programs including the Online Purchasing Program and Double Up Food Bucks.