Become a Master Food Volunteer
Category Archives: Food
Children’s Halloween Parade This Saturday at 10 a.m. in Downtown Fort Scott
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The Beacon: Annual Sign-Up Period Ends This Friday
The Beacon Food Pantry annual sign-up period continues until Oct. 27 during the hours of 9:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
“Sign-ups must be done by October 27th,” said David Gillen, “There will be no exceptions.”
“You will need to call in advance to the Beacon to set an appointment for one of these days, our phone number is 620-223-6869,” he said.
“You will need to bring with you, to qualify for a food card:
“a picture ID for all adults in the household,
“a Social Security card for all in household and birthdates, all dependent children with different names must show full-time parental custody, adoption papers, and must live with you to be on your card.
“Proof of income, pension, retirement, social security disability, VA benefits, unemployment, child support/alimony, and any other income.
“If you receive any services from DCF please bring the verification letter.
“Please have your information with you when you come or you will be turned away and will have to reschedule an appointment.”
During this sign-up, clients may also sign up for the Adopt-A-Child (children’s Christmas present help) and the Elk Club Food Basket (food for the holidays), he said.
Clients are asked to please wear a mask if they have a cough or cold or have been exposed to COVID-19, for the safety of volunteers and staff, and only one person per family in the building at that time.
For those getting food that day, call in advance and your order will be on the back porch for pick-up.
Adopt-a-Child pick-up and Elk food baskets will be at Community Christian Church on December 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Pick-up will be a drive-through, like last year, according to Gillen.
Elk’s baskets will be delivered the Sunday before Christmas.
Clients are asked to please call to set up an appointment as soon as possible, Gillen said.
About the Beacon
The Beacon Food Pantry is a helping organization serving Bourbon County residents since 1985.
The food pantry clients who qualify, according to income, will receive food assistance twice a month and hygiene products, baby formula, laundry, and dish soap per availability.
“We receive bakery and produce from Wal-Mart on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays and clients can shop in the main front lobby but are limited to one bag per family,” Beacon Director David Gillen said.
” The pantry also has a limited number of taxi passes and gas vouchers for doctors appointments,” he said.
Financial assistance, if qualified, is available on rent, utility bills, and prescriptions.
The Beacon is open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is closed on Thursdays.
To qualify for a food card, a picture identification must be provided for all adults in the household, a Social Security Card for all in the household, and proof of residence in the county, and proof of income.
“If you receive any services from DCF must provide a copy from them,” according to Gillen.
“To order food or ask for financial assistance you must call ahead,” he noted. All food orders will be put on the back porch due to safety issues.”
To apply for financial assistance the following is needed:
- Picture ID for all adults in the house
- Social Security card for all in-house
- Proof of Income
- Reason for the need
- Fill out the income expenditures form
- Copy of current bill
- Proof of Bourbon Co. residency, such as current utility bill, or
And also a bank statement with the current name and address.
The building is located at 525 E. 6th Street in Fort Scott.
To contact: 620-223-6869 or
Email [email protected]
Cohn’s Cafe Launches Its Sunday Brunch on Oct. 22
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Shop, Swine and Swig Coming to the River Room Today
A holiday vendor event is happening today, October 19, at the River Room from 5 to 8 p.m.
Shop, Swig, and Swine is being organized by Shelby Defebaugh, who is a vendor herself. “I make pens, lanyards, keychains and wristlets. Customization is welcome,” she said.
“In August I started organizing the event,” Defebaugh said. “When you are a vendor… you become like a community.” And several vendors were interested.
The River Room is located at the corner of National Avenue and Oak Street on Fort Scott’s north end. The event is from 5-8 p.m. with no cost to attendees.
“I know everyone is busy,” she said. “I felt like a Thursday evening, when you get off work, go shop with girlfriends and grab some food to take home.”
The name “Shop, Swig and Swine” is because “You can shop, and have adult beverages and Brickstreet BBQ will have a concession bar and food,” Defebaugh said.
Defebaugh said she wanted to thank Cathy Bishop, event coordinator at the River Room, and the Fort Scott Tribune for their help with the event.
Vendors pay $40 per booth.
However, she is giving booth space for free to the Fort Scott High School Art Club for a fundraiser which is a Christmas scene photo.
Vendors for the event:
Better in Bourbon
Flying P Ranch
Seint Make up
Blissful Aesthetics
FSHS Art Club
Couchman Acres
Sunshine Boutique
KC Design
Farmer Blake
Doggy Style
Gyp & Jo
Cathy Bishop
The Hamilton’s Artisan Bakery
Beitree
SL Studio
Scentsy
Write On
Buckin A Ranch
Rope Baskets
Little Candle Factory
Peace Acres Freeze Dried Candy
Over The Hill Signs
Red Aspen
Brickstreet BBQ
Sassy Cactus
C3 Designs
doTerra Essential Oils
For more information about the event:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1298619290775003/?ref=share_group_link
Chamber Halloween Parade on Oct. 28
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Hydrophonics is Coming to a Local School System
Hydroponics is coming to Uniontown’s school district.
Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil, according to https://www.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-agricultural-production-systems/hydroponics
“USD 235 is excited to be the recipient of a hydroponic shipping container farm through a grant awarded to the Kansas Division of Children and Families,” USD 235 Superintendent Vance Eden said. “It was announced on September 11th, 2023 that Community Green Farms of Pittsburg Kansas would receive just over $1,000,000 to bring seven southeast Kansas counties vertical hydroponic container farms.”
“Uniontown Schools has been selected to be the recipient for Bourbon Couty,” Eden said. “These shipping containers use state-of-the-art technology to efficiently produce hyper-organic products in significant quantities within a minimal footprint.”
The greens grown will be consumed at the two school building’s cafeterias in the district.
“Not only will this space serve as a hands-on learning environment that will be used across the spectrum of ages and courses, but it will also provide produce that can be consumed in our cafeterias,” he said. “We believe this opportunity will serve students and their futures in dynamic and tangible ways.”
The container has been ordered and will be placed on the school campus during the last week of November.
“Then, the setup of the farm and training for key staff will take place in December,” he said. “This means that it will be in production and available for student and teacher use during the second semester.”
“Mrs. Delta Pollock will be a leader, helping staff and students step into this new experience with confidence while Mrs. Shayla Knight will manage the food-service portion of vegetable production for our cafeterias,” he said.
Learning and adjusting will be part of the process of integrating hydroponics into learning experiences for the students in USD 235, he said.
“We eagerly jump into this opportunity with dreams and excitement for the impact that can be realized,” Eden said.
Once the container farm is established, community members will be invited to an open house “to see and taste what this new opportunity looks like in person,” Eden said.
“We want to publicly acknowledge Community Green Farms in their selection of USD 235 as the recipient and commend them on their commitment to bringing these opportunities to southeast Kansas schools at no cost,” he said.
Trunk-or-Treat For Young Children on Oct. 26
Pioneer Harvest Fiesta Starts Today at Bourbon County Fairgrounds
Come and visit the Pioneer Harvest Fiesta! Today is the first day! The quilt show opens from 9am to 4pm today and Saturday. Sunday’s hours are noon to 3pm. There are many beautiful quilts to admire. Cassino Richardson is here with her fabrics, precuts, books and more. Erica of Nine Patch Quilt Shop has a variety of Christmas gifts and ideas to choose from. Watch Bobbi Schroeder do wonders with her quilting machine. At 1pm Saturday come to listen to Paul Milks as he tells us of his journey with Cross Stitch. He has beautiful designs for you to see.
Don’t forget the bean feed Friday evening complete with cornbread and all the add ons. It is free with a Pioneer Harvest 2023 Collector button. $5 gives you a button which gets you in the show all three days. What a deal! There is also a car show on Saturday off Eddy Street at the north end of the fairgrounds.
Submitted by Jackie Warren
COVID-19 Supports for Kansas Kids Dropped Poverty and Food Insecurity
Data Shows Pandemic-era Supports Drove Down
Child Poverty, Food Insecurity among Kansas Kids
TOPEKA, KAN.
— Poverty and food insecurity rates among Kansas children dropped significantly in the early years of the pandemic, according to the
2023 Kansas KIDS COUNT® Data Book, which analyzes child outcomes in economic well-being, education, and health indicators. The
Data Book was created by Kansas Action for Children, which collected state and county data from national and state sources.
Kansas children living below the poverty line (or a household income of less than $26,500/year for a family of four) decreased from 101,000 children in 2019 to 92,000 children in 2021. And
kids experiencing food insecurity (or not having enough to eat for every meal) decreased even more significantly from around 120,000 kids in 2019 to about 94,000 in 2021.
These improvements correlate to early pandemic-era supports targeting kids and families, such as increased food assistance benefits, no-cost school meals for all children, the temporarily
expanded federal child tax credit, and other measures that helped relieve financial burdens for families living on low- or middle-incomes.
Additionally, more Kansas kids became enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), reaching a combined peak across the last decade of nearly 300,000 children accessing
some type of coverage through KanCare, the state’s Medicaid program. This number is in stark contrast to a combined total of about 271,000 kids enrolled in 2019.
Due to the public health emergency, KanCare enrollees did not have to submit paperwork with the state to determine continuing eligibility, and enrollees were able to keep their coverage for
prolonged periods. However, with the public health emergency ending in May 2023, those redeterminations are underway, and thousands of kids are losing coverage.
“The data is clear that measures implemented during the early years of the pandemic helped families make ends meet,” said John Wilson, President and CEO of Kansas Action for Children. “But
with those programs having ended, advocates are concerned with the data trends we are likely to see in 2022 and beyond.”
He continued, “We can build on the success of pandemic-era programs by ensuring families can achieve financial security. Expanding Medicaid, implementing a state child tax credit, breaking
down barriers to food assistance, and raising the minimum wage are all solutions to make that a reality.”
Other notable data shifts highlighted in the report include:
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Income statuses of families in Kansas have been on a constant incline since 2011, but there are still large discrepancies between racial groups. For instance,
Asian American/Pacific Islander households made around $102,100 in 2021, while American Indian/Alaskan Native households were at $32,400.
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Fewer young children were enrolled in early learning programs. From 2019-2021, about 54% of Kansas 3- and 4-year-olds weren’t in nursery school, preschool, or
kindergarten. This is about a 2-point increase from 2017-2019.
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Basic reading and math proficiency continued to trend downward in the last decade, following trends across the country. Reading proficiency has dropped about
10 percentage points since 2015 (80% vs. 70% in 2021). Math proficiency decreased even more significantly, seeing 8th graders drop from 71% in 2019 to 61% in 2022 and 4th graders drop from 79% to 75% across the same period.
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Low birth weights are statistically much higher among Black newborns compared to every other racial/ethnic group. In 2021, around 7% of all Kansas newborns were
born at less than 5.5 pounds, but Black babies were twice the state average at 14%.
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Racial disparities were also present in infant mortality rates. While the overall state rate is 5.9 infant deaths per 1,000, around 16.5 Black infants per 1,000
died in 2021.
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Children without health coverage stayed steady at around 5%. With KanCare redeterminations currently occurring, this number could increase in future years.
What’s Happening in Fort Scott
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Fundraiser Dinner: Rebuilding Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church
