Healthy Bourbon County Action Team Partners on $200,000 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Project to Advance Food and Environmental Justice in Southeast Kansas
Fort Scott, Kansas — March 12, 2026
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) is partnering with the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) on a new $200,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to support community-driven solutions that improve food access and environmental health in Southeast Kansas.
The two-year initiative, “An Action-Oriented Study of Community-Driven Solutions to Address Food and Environmental Justice,” is co-led by Christina Pacheco, JD, MPH, Assistant Professor at KUMC, and Jody Love, MBA, President and CEO of HBCAT. Together, they will partner with the Montgomery County Local Health Equity Action Team (LHEAT), a coalition that brings together residents, local organizations, and cross-sector partners to identify priorities and implement practical solutions that improve health and quality of life.
Through this project, community members will design and implement locally driven strategies to strengthen food systems and improve neighborhood environments. Potential solutions include edible landscapes, raised garden beds, and other place-based approaches that expand access to nutritious food while revitalizing underused community spaces.
“This project reflects the power of community leadership,” said Jody Love. “When residents are at the center of planning and implementation, the solutions are more practical, more sustainable, and more reflective of local priorities.”
The project builds on community infrastructure developed through the COPE initiative, which helped establish LHEATs across Kansas to advance health through collaboration and shared governance.
HBCAT will provide community coordination, resident engagement, and implementation support, drawing on more than a decade of experience building cross-sector partnerships and supporting community-led initiatives across Southeast Kansas.
This work also aligns with the broader regional strategy being advanced through Rural Community Partners (RCP), a Southeast Kansas initiative focused on strengthening long-term systems for community development across county lines. By connecting local coalitions, organizations, and residents throughout the region, RCP works to ensure that community-led solutions are supported not just locally but regionally, helping communities share learning, coordinate resources, and build sustainable change over time.
In addition to supporting local implementation, the project includes an evaluation component that will document outcomes related to food access, community capacity, and systems change. Findings will be shared with community members, regional partners, and other rural communities interested in replicating effective strategies.
The grant was awarded through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Rapid Response: Reinvesting in Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Research program, which funds community-centered research designed to advance equitable and sustainable health solutions.
About the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team
The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) is a community-based organization dedicated to improving health, well-being, and opportunity through collaboration, resident leadership, and locally driven solutions. HBCAT’s mission is to increase access to physical activity and healthy food, promote commercial tobacco cessation, enhance quality of life, and encourage economic growth.
About the University of Kansas Medical Center
The University of Kansas Medical Center is an academic medical center committed to improving the health and wellness of Kansans through education, research, and patient care.
About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
RWJF is a leading national philanthropy paving the way, together, toward a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right. Through funding, convening, advocacy, evidence building, and impact investing, they work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to get to health equity, faster and together.
This research was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Evidence for Action Program. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Foundation.