Healthy Bourbon County Action Team Announces Continued Pathways to a Healthy Kansas Investment and $75,000 in Implementation Awards

FORT SCOTT, KS, January 22, 2026 — In January 2025, the Healthy Bourbon County Action Team (HBCAT) was awarded continued investment through Phase 3 of the Pathways to a Healthy Kansas initiative, funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas®. HBCAT received a two-year, $100,000 Pathways Coordination Grant to support coalition leadership, planning, and implementation across multiple community health strategies in Bourbon County.

As part of the Phase 3 coordination process, HBCAT worked closely with its Local Health Equity Action Teams (LHEATs) to identify priority needs and recommend Pathways packages grounded in local data, lived experience, and community input. Through this community-driven process, five Pathways packages were selected for development.

Two of those packages advanced through required policy development and were subsequently awarded noncompetitive Pathways implementation grants totaling $75,000.

 

The Incubator Kitchen Package, awarded $50,000, is being implemented in partnership with The Kitchen Collective + Collaborative. Funding supports expanded access to licensed commercial kitchen space for food entrepreneurs, including a fee waiver program for income-eligible participants, equipment upgrades, outreach, and nutrition-focused programming. This work helps remove financial and structural barriers for individuals launching or growing food-based businesses while increasing access to healthy, locally produced foods in Bourbon County.

“This work is about building systems that work for real people,” said Rachel French, Co-Owner and Operating Partner of The Kitchen Collective + Collaborative. “Through our partnership with HBCAT and Pathways, we’re creating an ecosystem where food entrepreneurs can thrive, barriers are reduced, and community health and economic stability grow together.”

 

 

 

The Social Entrepreneurship Supports Package, awarded $25,000 and led by HBCAT, supports the expansion and formalization of HBCAT’s regional mentorship and Catalyst entrepreneurship programs. Funding is being used for paid local mentor stipends, participant incentives, program coordination, outreach, and technical assistance. These supports are designed to strengthen businesses whose work directly contributes to community health, including food access, behavioral health, social connectedness, and economic stability. This work is also supported through HBCAT’s Kansas Food Action Network efforts, funded by the Kansas Health Foundation, and implemented in partnership with the University of Kansas School of Business.

 

 

“For ten years, our work has focused on policy, systems, and environmental change because that is how you create lasting impact,” said Jody Love, President and CEO of HBCAT. “When communities design systems that make the healthy choice the default, individual behavior change becomes easier, more equitable, and more sustainable. These Pathways investments reflect that philosophy and the trust built through a decade of community-led work.”

In addition to these awarded packages, HBCAT continues active Pathways coordination and development on three additional initiatives. The Mapleton Multi-Modal Package focuses on improving walkability, safety, and access to physical activity in partnership with the City of Mapleton and Friends of Mapleton. The Health-Related Social Needs Package is being developed with Freeman Health System to address non-medical drivers of health such as transportation, food access, and care coordination. The Farm to School Package, in collaboration with USD 234, focuses on strengthening local food systems, agricultural education, and student access to fresh, locally grown foods.

Community members, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and local organizations interested in technical assistance, mentorship, and community support can learn more and sign up for services through HBCAT’s regional partner, Rural Community Partners, at ruralcommunitypartners.org.

Funding for these initiatives is being provided by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas® as part of Bourbon County’s Pathways to a Healthy Kansas grant.

About Pathways to a Healthy Kansas

Pathways to a Healthy Kansas is the largest community grant program ever funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. The Pathways program provides community coalitions with the tools and resources needed to remove barriers and engage their communities in ways that improve active living, healthy eating, behavioral health, and commercial tobacco prevention. The grant funding for each community includes a coordination grant along with the opportunity to apply for noncompetitive implementation and achievement grants. For more information, visit bcbsks.com/pathways.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas

For more than 80 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has built a reputation of trust with its members and contracting providers by providing outstanding customer service while quickly and accurately processing claims, fairly administering benefit plans and contracts, offering programs, services, and tools to help members improve or maintain their health, and operating under the highest ethical standards while being good stewards of premium dollars. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and is the state’s largest insurer, serving all Kansas counties except Johnson and Wyandotte. For more information, visit bcbsks.com.

Licensee Disclosure

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. BLUE CROSS®, BLUE SHIELD®, and the Cross and Shield Symbols are registered service marks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. The Healthy Bourbon County Action Team is leading the Pathways initiative in Bourbon County and is not affiliated with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.