by Carol Cowdrey
Special to The Leaven
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas opened the Hope Distribution Center (HDC) here in the fall of 2014, the goal was to centralize food donations and increase the capacity for distributing a balanced inventory to those in need, especially in rural communities.
Today, 10 years later, the agency has grown from distributing nearly 200,000 pounds of shelf-stable food to over 2.2 million pounds, including fresh produce and dairy — putting a major dent in food insecurity across the archdiocese’s 21 counties.
“Hope Distribution Center has been critical to the expansion of our food assistance programs, especially in our underserved communities,” said Denise Ogilvie, Catholic Charities chief mission integration officer. “It has changed the way that our agency, as well as the community, answers the call to feed the hungry.”
Prior to its opening, food donations were dropped off at the nearest Catholic Charities pantry, creating an inequity as some pantries were more fully stocked than others. To help solve the problem, Catholic Charities recognized the need for a central warehouse that would provide easy access to trucks for large scale food donations and deliveries to the agency’s eight food pantries.
Utilizing funds from Leawood’s St. Michael the Archangel Parish Defenders’ Ball, and a generous match from Peter and Veronica Mallouk, Catholic Charities purchased the former Dressler’s Pet Supply in Kansas City, Kansas. The vast space featured three dock doors, two drive-in bays and a 1100-square-foot stone building that would serve as a walk-in food pantry.
For seven straight Saturdays, over 130 volunteers — including neighbors and parish members — put love into action donating 600 hours of service to renovate and remodel the building. Their labor of love paid off when HDC’s doors opened in the fall of 2014. The first large food delivery came from Overland Park’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School annual food drive, which has become a staple every November for helping fill the warehouse shelves before the winter months.
Having a centralized warehouse — complete with refrigeration — and ample storage has allowed Catholic Charities to accept large pallets of food, as well as necessities including diapers and hygiene items.
“All food that comes in is weighed before being sorted into 26 categories,” explained Michael Gonzales, director of the HDC warehouse and logistics. “It helps us track the donations and determine if there is any gap in the amount of food needed for those we serve.”
Over the last decade, HDC has received over 10 million pounds of food from individuals, parishes, schools, grocery store rescue and community partners. Last fiscal year alone, Catholic Charities distributed nearly $10.8 million worth of food to hungry individuals and families.
The food pantries are just one source of food. Catholic Charities offers monthly food distributions in Lawrence, Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas. The agency’s Resource Bus distributes food throughout rural communities. The Kids Summer Food programs provide healthy sack lunches to children who rely on free or reduced cost lunches throughout the school year.
“By providing food, that’s one way that we can help our community keep their lights on, keep their family together and keep their hopes up,” said Gonzales. “Whoever came up with the name Hope Distribution, they nailed it. It is a beacon of hope for our community that no one, as long as Catholic Charities is here, will go hungry.”
Over the years, HDC has become more than a food warehouse. It is a place where children and adults can engage in the mission of Catholic Charities.
“We use volunteers in an amazing number of ways,” said Ogilvie.
Every Friday, Catholic Charities trucks are left at parishes doing food drives, and they are brought back by volunteers every Monday to unload. All the food has to be sorted, and that’s 100% done by volunteers.
Also, through the Grocery Store Rescue program, volunteers collect thousands of pounds of food each week that would otherwise go to waste. “We just couldn’t do this work without their help,” Ogilvie said, noting that additional volunteer opportunities have been added to Tuesday evenings and some Saturdays, making it easier for families, groups and individuals to serve, even with busy weekday schedules.
Catholic Charities recognizes that not everyone can be out there doing direct service, but donating food or money to purchase food is still an impactful way to serve the poor.
“When you do that, you really allow Catholic Charities to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ,” said Ogilvie. “You allow us to be the face of Jesus Christ to the people that we serve day in and day out.”
