Category Archives: Food

Bourbon County, Food, Schools

USD 235 Provides Meal Program in Summer 2020

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USD 235 Driver Bill Marlow loads food to deliver to the district’s children on June 9.

The Uniontown School District is providing a meal program to its’ districts’ children through June 25.

 

The first day for meals was June 2.

 

In addition, summer school children receive activity packets.

 

“We usually have kids in the building for summer school,” Tara Gorman, third-grade teacher at West Bourbon Elementary School, said. “We couldn’t because of the pandemic. This is our alternative plan, if they signed up for activity packets.”

 

“This week is a book, they get a book once a week, a craft kit and a couple of games to work on with siblings,” Gorman said.  “This week they will be building paper airplanes and testing paper airplanes.”

 

Breakfast and lunch are available to children ages 1-18 in this program, with no eligibility or paperwork required to receive the food.

 

Multiple days breakfast and lunch will be provided to each child on Tuesday and Thursday of each week through June 25.

 

USD 235 Food Service Director Michelle DeMott said food is prepared on Mondays and Wednesdays and delivered on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

USD 235 Food Service Director Michelle DeMott, left, checks lists of students that will be delivered food. In the back is Courtney Campbell, fifth-grade teacher; Hannah Hayes, social studies teacher and Tara Gorman, third-grade teacher. Teachers go on the route and deliver activity kits for students as well as the food.

 

Parents are asked to call  DeMott at 620-238-4968 to sign up.

 

 

DeMott will ask for some information of either a pickup point or a rural address for delivery.

 

Deliveries will be between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

 

Driver Roxy Gregg, left and Food Service Director Michelle DeMott discuss the routes before leaving West Bourbon Elementary School.

 

Pickup points are the West Bourbon Elementary School on at the front of the building, Marmaton Community Church in Redfield, the city park in Mapleton, in front of the Bronson Meat Locker in Bronson.

 

Pickup points open from 11 to 11:20 a.m.

 

The meal schedule for USD 235 for June 2020.

Bourbon County, Food, Fort Scott

The Beacon Food Pantry Reorganizes Staffing

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The Beacon is located at 525 E. Sixth Street, Fort Scott.

 

Dave Gillen is the food pantry administrator for the Beacon. Photo by Carol MacArthur.

On Monday, June 1, 2020, David Gillen assumed full management of the operation as Beacon Food Pantry Administrator. The new assistant administrator is Patty Mowen. Both are knowledgeable of the operation, and both consider this organization their “mission.” according to the press release submitted by Carol MacArthur, board chairwoman.

Beacon Assistant Director Patty Mowen. Submitted photo.

At this time, no one but the staff is allowed inside the building, according to the press release.

Food orders are called in, filled, and picked up at the back dock of the building at 525 E. Sixth. This practice may become permanent, according to the press release.

Financial requests may be called in at this time as well.

People may call The Beacon and ask for David Gillen, for inquiries, MacArthur said. The phone number is 620-223- 6869.

Improvements in the facility have already been made by Gillen and volunteers.

Office equipment is being updated as needed as well to improve service to clients.

The Beacon, Inc., in existence for almost forty years, began as churches in the community came together to serve the needs of Fort Scott and Bourbon County.

They have provided those struggling in the community as a food pantry and in offering financial assistance, dominantly through the efforts of community-related donations.

Currently, the organization provides food, financial assistance, and referrals to other service organizations.

“People have been so generous with funds and donations,” MacArthur said. ” But we have had difficulty procuring large amounts of food (during the pandemic),”

“The community has been wonderful,” she said.

The Beacon is located at 525 E. Sixth Street, Fort Scott, Ks. 66701, and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, with one exception.

On the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, the Beacon is closed during the day and is open instead from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

 

COVID-19, Food, Fort Scott

Christian Ministries Team Up to Distribute Food Tomorrow, May 23

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Allen Schellack, director of Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries.

Three Christian ministries are working together to bring food to those affected by the COVID 19 Pandemic.

 

Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries, Fort Scott Church of the  Nazarene, and Convoy of Hope will be having a food distribution event, Saturday, May 23, from 10 AM to 2 PM at Fort Scott Nazarene, 1728 S Horton.

 

Convoy of Hope is providing the food, the church is providing the distribution place and some volunteers and Allen Schellack, director of Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries, is providing the coordination of the food distribution.

 

The Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene is located at 1728 S. Horton. People should enter off of Horton Street and will pick up food under the canopy on the south side of the church.

 

Food distributed (while supplies last) will include potatoes, bread, eggs, produce, and bottled juice and tea, according to Allen Schellack, director.

Schellack recently completed a Convoy of Hope Zoom training and  on May 20 he was told that food to distribute would be available on May 23.,

Schellack with his son, Dustin, will be picking up the food from the Convoy of Hope hub site in Webb City, MO.

Volunteers are needed on May 23 to help direct traffic for the event, unpack the food, and hand out the food, Schellack said.

Volunteers can call Schellack to schedule a work time at 620-223-2212.

There are no income guidelines to receive the food, nor registration requirements.

“We hope to make this the first of many more events,” Schellack said.

“This is a community event and our vision is to have more churches involved to help serve the community,” he said.

 

Convoy of Hope is a faith-based organization with a driving passion to feed the world through children’s feeding initiatives, community outreaches, disaster response and partner resourcing, according to its’ Facebook page.

Schellack is a member of the Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene and members are supporting this outreach as volunteers and allowing the church to be the distribution point.

The mission of Fort Scott Compassionate Ministries is to
 alleviate suffering caused by poverty, and issues relating to poverty, and promote family values through partnership with local and state agencies.
The FSCM Outreach Center is located on the second floor of The Bourbon County Senior Citizens Center, 26 N. Main and was founded in 2014, with Schellack at the director.
Business, Food, Fort Scott

Common Ground Coffee Co. offers community a gathering place

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Coffee houses have been a gathering place for discussion of ideas since the 1700s. Many great works of historical note have no doubt begun as an idea shared with a friend over a cup of coffee. Noted 18th Century author Alexander Pope decided to be a writer as a child when he saw a famous writer in a London coffee house. However, great things don’t have to be on the scale of “An Essay on Man” in order to make big changes, especially ideas developed by the community, for the community. Common Ground Coffee Co. functions in much the same way as coffee shops through history–as a gathering place for the community and surrounding area.

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When one walks through the door of the Common Ground Coffee Co., the customer is immediately surrounded by the welcoming atmosphere of the restored historic downtown building. However, the interior is furnished so nicely that the shop wouldn’t be out of place in a trendy area of Kansas City. Several of the walls have been repaired with fresh sheet rock and painted in neutral and jewel tones, and others have been re-covered with weathered wood, lending a tasteful variety to the appearance of the shop. Hanging light fixtures lend the perfect amount of light for reading without being harsh or overbearing. Comfortable couches are scattered on either side of the main seating area of tables and chairs, and in one corner, a display of oil paintings catches the eye. According to Manager Tyler Hazen, the goal was to personalize the setting in order to set it apart from the look of corporate shops. He said that the goal was to create a comfortable, neutral setting in which people could express themselves.

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When asked if Common Ground Coffee Co. might become a place of gathering for thinkers and creative minds, Hazen said, “I think it has been already.” The coffee shop hosts everything from live music to poetry nights, allowing local talent to present their creative work. When asked where the capital and materials came from to start Common Ground Coffee Co., Hazen said, “This was all donation. Once we start building [the business], hopefully we can give back to the community.”

Events planned for summer include live music on Friday nights, starting in July.