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Deadline: October 8, 2023 or until filled
About Us KC Healthy Kids is a nonprofit organization that connects communities to close health gaps. We forge partnerships with communities and organizations to advance policies, boost the ability of communities to identify needs, develop plans and advocate for comprehensive change to improve kids’ health and well-being. Our work addresses systemic obstacles through solutions-based focus in the areas of youth advocacy, food policy, mental health, local food and active communities for kids and their families. KC Healthy Kids is committed to maintaining a diverse, multicultural working environment. We adhere to the policy of providing equal employment opportunities to all job applicants and employees regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability or sexual orientation. Please consider applying if you meet at least 75% of the qualifications. Position Description Are you passionate about community food security, local food systems and social and racial equity? Do you thrive collaborating with diverse stakeholders to advocate for food and farm policy? KC Healthy Kids seeks a committed individual to engage advocates, educate decision makers and promote policies that put healthy food within reach and strengthen our local food system. The Director of Food Policy will report to the Vice President of Programs and Policy and will work with staff members, consultants and partner organizations to develop and advocate for a community-driven policy agenda. This position will lead the Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition (the Coalition), alongside the steering committee. The Coalition convenes diverse stakeholders to advocate for an equitable, sustainable and resilient food system in greater Kansas City and promote policies for the nutritional, economic, social and environmental health of the community. A high level of autonomy and initiative is needed. Cultivating trusting relationships with diverse stakeholders across the region is fundamental to this work. Duties and Responsibilities Policy Advocacy
Administrative
Communications
Qualifications
Salary and Benefits The salary range for this position is $64,500-74,500 based on experience. Benefits include paid time off; mobile phone stipend; health, dental, vision and disability insurance; and a contribution to a retirement plan. KC Healthy Kids staff work a flexible, 32-hour work week. Remote or hybrid work is allowed but must live in the Kansas City region. Application Process Email a cover letter and resume to recruitment@kchealthykids.org. The position will remain open until filled, but applications received before October 8, 2023 will be prioritized. No phone calls please. Inquiries should be sent by email. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.   By Shelby Mocherman, LMSW, KC Healthy Kids
Mindful eating is a habit that can help kids and adults slow down and listen to their bodies. Listening to our bodies helps us know when our bellies feel full or if they are "out of fuel." It also helps us better understand what types of foods our bodies like and need. Mindful eating can encourage kids to develop lifelong healthy eating habits, focus , and emotional regulation when practiced regularly. In his 2017 article, Mindful Eating: The Art of Presence While You Eat, Joseph B. Nelson says mindful eating means using all of our five senses and paying attention to our food on purpose, moment by moment, and without judgment. How Do We Practice Mindful Eating? To practice mindful eating, we can think about where our food comes from (source) and explore each of our senses (sound, sights, touch, smell, taste), while eating purposefully. Try asking these questions at snack or meal times. Source: Encourage kids to think about where their food comes from. (Think about how the food got from the farm to our plate. Imagine who put the seed in the ground and made sure it got the water and sun it needed.) Sound: What does it sound like when we are preparing this food? Is our food making any sounds before we get ready to eat? (Think "sizzles in the pan.") Sight: What does the food look like? What colors and shapes do we see? (Maybe a purple eggplant with flecks of white.) Touch: How does this food feel in our hands? What is the texture of this food? Before chewing, how does this food feel on our tongue? (Such as a piece of lettuce that feels cold and crunchy.) Smell: What does our food smell like? Is it a familiar smell, or a new smell? (Something smells sweet, like warm spices!) Taste: How does this food taste? Does the taste change as you chew it? What happens in your body as you eat the food? (At first it tastes salty, but perhaps there is a bitter after taste.) These kinds of serve-and-return interactions have a positive impact that can last a lifetime. Photos: Kids tried sweet pea shoots and rustic bread during a mindful eating activity at the Eat Local & Organic Expo in April.   Alissa Kooyenga, program assistant for trauma informed care, shares how a longtime friend eased her mind when it came time to protect her infant with vaccinations.
Parenting can sometimes feel like putting together furniture—except all the directions are in a foreign language, a fire alarm is screeching in the background, and every single piece is the wrong size and shape. My firstborn just turned one, and I can confidently say that I have never experienced anything as stretching as motherhood. The constant fear of not doing the “right” thing, of somehow irreparably messing up my child, stares me in the face every morning. How will I know the right thing to do? With all this concern, it came as no surprise that I felt terrified to make the decision to vaccinate my daughter. I had been vaccinated myself, both with the COVID vaccine and other lifespan vaccinations, so I believe the practice is important and helpful. But still I worried. How would my daughter react? Would she handle the vaccination okay? These thoughts raced through my head as I considered her wellbeing and future. Luckily, one of my best friends is a healthcare professional. Keri has two boys, ages two and four, and is a Clinical Research Coordinator with KU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. When the question of my daughter’s vaccinations came up, I immediately reached out to Keri to ask what she did with her boys. With a bachelor’s of science in life/health sciences and five years’ experience in the medical field, I trusted Keri to give me the best advice on what I should do. Keri assured me that she had her own children vaccinated, and they experienced no side effects from vaccines. She explained that my fears were normal, and every parent struggles with what to do about their children’s health decisions. She recommended I look at websites such as PUBMed and the Cochrane Library to learn more about the many different studies on vaccinations in children, which helped me better understand the COVID vaccine specifically and its possible side effects within the adolescent population. She even expressed her own peace she felt since vaccinating her children, having given them an added layer of protection against debilitating or even fatal diseases. I felt heard by my friend, and now felt assured that this decision was not one I wrestled with alone. I also choose to discuss it with my daughter's pediatrician, expressing my worries and hesitation. She encouraged me to vaccinate my daughter based on the medical studies' research that has come out, but ultimately told me it was my decision. Talking to another health care professional, especially one who knows my daughter's health well, eased many of my hesitations. After talking to Keri, undertaking some research myself, and talking to my daughter's pediatrician, I truly believed that vaccinating my daughter with both COVID and lifespan vaccinations was the best choice I could make for her. Knowing other mothers are wrestling with the same decisions for their children lent me encouragement to research and decide for myself what was the best decision for my family. I firmly believe every parent should have the right to wrestle through their medical (and other parenting) decisions within their community. Parenting is hard, but just like putting together furniture, it’s one thousand times easier with the help of others. If you would like to learn more about how to sign up your child for vaccinations or just have questions about your family’s medical decisions, visit these websites:
 KC Healthy Kids will partner with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a $25 million cooperative agreement award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the creation of the Heartland Regional Food Business Center. The Heartland Regional Food Business Center is among 12 such national centers the USDA will establish to serve all areas of the country. The centers will target their work to historically underinvested communities in their regions. The Heartland center will serve the states of Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa. Rural Prosperity Nebraska, a UNL hub that helps connect Nebraska communities with university faculty, students and other resources, is leading the project in cooperation with KC Healthy Kids and 32 additional partners. Those partners include the Heartland Center in Lincoln and Extension offices in participating states, as well as non-profit organizations, and tribal and indigenous groups, among others. “As a nonprofit that works in both Kansas and Missouri, KC Healthy Kids appreciates the support of a strong regional partnership. Having organizations from five states working together means we can continue to connect communities to close health gaps and further invest in community driven initiatives," says Rachael McGinnis Millsap, vice president of programs and policy for KC Healthy Kids. “Kids and their communities need convenient access to healthy food through a strong local food system, says Millsap. "This partnership will have a huge impact on our ability to engage advocates and decision makers to promote policies that put healthy food within reach." “USDA is excited to be partnering with Rural Prosperity Nebraska on this innovative and unprecedented initiative,” said Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Lester Moffitt. “By leveraging the expertise now available through these Regional Food Business Centers, USDA can offer unique support for local food systems development across the country.” Mary Emery, executive director of Rural Prosperity Nebraska, said the award would help paint a clear picture of the farmers, distributors and other major players in the region’s local food system. “You have all these different entities working with local foods—producers, grocery stores, local distributors, non-profits, business developers, the Center for Rural Affairs, meat processing plants, Extension offices, the Nebraska Regional Food Systems Initiative—and these are all puzzle pieces,” she said. “But we’ve never put the pieces together. What we want to do with this project is put the puzzle together and see the picture of how regional food systems work.” As the regional food system comes into focus, Emery and other leaders can work to do a better job of connecting people to fresh, locally produced foods. "The inspiration for the proposal came from recognizing how underserved populations in rural communities often struggle to easily access local and healthy foods. This issue was exacerbated during the COVID pandemic, when long supply-chain lines became disrupted, leaving many communities without fresh foods. This project emphasizes the necessity to rethink local and regional food supply chains, and how to strengthen them," Emery said. The center will do just that, providing an online interactive platform where buyers, sellers, producers, processors and market managers can communicate and collaborate at the local level.  Position Description
Farmer- Splitlog Farm and Blvd Loft Project 10 hrs per week April 1 - October 31 (there is flexibility on these dates) $22 per hour Contract Farmer Position The position will assist the Local Food Program Manager/Farm Manager with all aspects of organic urban farming to help the community increase local food education and access. The position requires some food production experience, organizational skills, the ability to think strategically, and to establish and maintain effective working relationships with volunteers, interns, community partners and other KC Healthy Kids staff. Duties and Responsibilities:
Job Relationships: The Contract Farmer will interact with farm share members, volunteers, interns, partners and KC Healthy Kids staff. Contact: tflowers@kchealthykids.org  Eat Local & Organic Expo Johnson County Community College Saturday April 1 , 2023, 8 a.m - 2 p.m. Free Admission, Free Parking Hosted by KC Healthy Kids Access the gymnasium from North Campus Drive off of College Boulevard. The Eat Local & Organic Expo brings together area farmers and midwest eaters KC Food Circle™ kicks off farmers market season with the return of the Eat Local & Organic Expo Saturday, April 1 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Johnson County Community College. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public. The Expo is a great place to get to know farmers and find out how you can be more connected to your food and the people who grow it. At the Expo, shoppers can buy from some of the best local, organic, free-range farmers, ranchers, and small-batch artisans in the area. On Saturday, April 1 at Johnson County Community College, shoppers can…
The Eat Local & Organic Expo began in 1999 as part of a food system conference sponsored by KC Food Circle and Sierra Club. KC Food Circle is a program of KC Healthy Kids that connects local farmers with wholesale buyers, chefs and artisans who are vital to our region’s local food system. The Expo is sponsored by J.R. Albert Foundation, Inc., Alphagraphics, Children’s Mercy, Michele and Jim Stowers, AF Group, Central Bank of Kansas City anbd Lamar Advertising Company. About KC Food Circle Since 1988, KC Food Circle™ has connected our region’s eaters and farmers to grow a thriving local food community. In 2019, KC Healthy Kids adopted the volunteer-led effort and continues to maintain the farmer directory, to uphold the integrity of KC Food Circle™ pledges, and to help farmers increase sales by leveraging our partnerships with area restaurants, schools and other institutions. About KC Healthy Kids KC Healthy Kids connects communities to close health gaps. The nonprofit invests in community education, local and regional advocacy and direct support. Their work addresses systemic obstacles through solutions-based focus areas of youth advocacy, food policy, mental health, local food and active communities for kids and their families. Kids and their communities need a strong local food system. That’s why KC Healthy Kids helps farmers grow thriving businesses and teaches kids & families the value of growing their own food and purchasing locally-grown food. You don't have to write a big check to make a big difference for Kansas City's communities. Here are some little things you can do to help connect communities to close health gaps.
With your help, our solution-based work related to local food, food policy, mental health, youth advocates and active communities has impacted the lives of thousands of kids in the Kansas City metro area. Here are some stories of our impact. 1. Make a monthly gift. Monthly donations in any amount add up to make a big difference for kids and their communities. Set it up 2. Give when you shop with Amazon. If you shop with Amazon, you can help KC Healthy Kids' fundraising efforts! It just takes a simple switch to AmazonSmile. Amazon tracks purchases and automatically sends KC Healthy Kids a check based on qualified transactions. On your mobile phone, open the Amazon Shopping App, navigate to the main menu and select Amazon Smile. Please select KC Healthy Kids, Kansas City, Kansas and then follow the on-screen instructions to turn ON AmazonSmile in the mobile app. Follow these steps to set it up on your web browser.
3. Get your friends involved with a Facebook fundraiser You can use Facebook to raise money for KC Healthy Kids. When you make a post, just click the three dots in the "Add to your post" box to find "Raise Money." Type KC Healthy Kids into the search box and Facebook will walk you through the rest. You don't have to do another thing! Facebook will collect donations and send us a check. We WOULD love to know of your kind effort to raise money and spread the word about KC Healthy Kids, if you're so inclined. 4. Donate Your Birthday Another great way to show your Facebook friends and family that KC Healthy Kids matters to you is to ask for donations in celebration of your birthday (or any special day). Go to Facebook Fundraisers and select KC Healthy Kids. Follow the prompts to publish and share the fundraiser. Did you know that expressing gratitude (even better — writing it down) is scientifically proven to make us happier? It can also improve our physical health, reduce stress and anxiety, and help us sleep better! So you can bet those of us at KC Healthy Kids are feeling pretty good right now as we show gratitude for the people and organizations who help us connect communities to close health gaps. This Giving Tuesday, as in years past, we want to take the opportunity to say THANK YOU for all you have given to us and to your communities this year. Special thanks go to our board of directors for supporting KC Healthy Kids as volunteers and donors (denoted with an asterisk).
 Did you know in Wyandotte County, one in three children aren’t getting enough to eat? Across the Kansas City metro area, the numbers are one in five — not much better. Even when their families can afford food, many children live in neighborhoods with too few grocery stores and too many fast food chains.
To combat hunger and provide fresh food for families with very young children, KC Healthy Kids connects farmers and early education centers to make sure children have healthy food at home. Since 2020, more than 200 families at early care centers have received free weekly farm boxes filled with products purchased from more than 30 local farmers. The program runs for 8-12 weeks during the growing season each year, and not only are the bountiful boxes full of healthy, delicious foods, they are also delivered to their early care centers, so busy parents didn’t have to make another stop on the way home. At the height of the pandemic, farmers’ contracts with schools and restaurants were canceled, but the produce was still growing in their fields. By signing up for farm shares, families helped the farmers receive income and prevent food waste. A majority of the food was purchased through the Kansas City Food Hub, which also assembled and delivered the farm boxes, and some was grown at Splitlog Farm and Orchard. Funding for free farm boxes for early care centers was provided by Frederick and Louise Hartwig Family Fund, The Mader Foundation, PNC Bank, Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas CARES ACT and by individual donors. Denise (not her real name) is a Wyandotte County mom who signed up for our free farm box program. Through access to better food and some education, she and her family improved their health. She lost 50 pounds and has seen her son’s challenging behavior improve. She now sees the need for policy and advocacy in their local community to bring an end to the limited offerings they have for groceries. Here's her story: Changing things for me was also about changing the journey for my kids and teaching them. When we got our first farm box from KC Healthy Kids, my kids didn’t know what things were. I had to tell them that these were vegetables. When we got more boxes, the kids would be excited. We opened them together, then Googled them together. We learned this is a beet; this is a zucchini. The kids helped make hard boiled eggs and season the food. It was a whole event. As a government employee, I’m required to live in our county — developers aren’t keeping the people living here in mind. We only have Walmart as a convenient grocery store and a lot of fast food. To get anything else you have to drive far from here. My neighbors and I talk all the time about how we need a better grocery store. All my neighbors are affected by it. My family feels so much better now. We didn’t know what we were missing. For Meighan Piefer, director at two participating centers, the program was an eye-opener. “Honestly I had no idea how many of my "middle income" families needed food,” Meighan said. “I was surprised how fast the boxes were grabbed up and taken. We asked families to call and reserve a box if they were arriving after 5pm. We put the boxes out at 3:50 and they were gone by 5.” By the numbers
Of Note Families at one center wanted to express their thanks. Here are some excerpts from their notes: “I just wanted to say "thank you" for coordinating the fresh food deliveries. We had a baby this fall, and it came at the perfect time, where it was very difficult to go to grocery stores and pick out any sort of fresh food during this pandemic. I felt better about what I was putting in my body while I was breastfeeding, and my 4-year-old also has more knowledge now of certain veggies like turnips and squash.” “Our family has been extremely grateful to be apart of this program. The veggies and fruit were always fresh and very delicious and helped out a lot when we were already out and needing food. I’ve also, been able to learn about new vegetables that were absolutely delicious!” “The veggies were a life saver, especially when we ended up getting Covid and couldn’t get to the store for anything fresh. We would go through the eggs with the first few days because my boys loved them so much!!! The best boxes also had kale. My boys loved the kale baked and I could have used more kale! The lettuce was awesome because it lasted sooo long! We truly cannot thank you enough for this program. It helped my family so much!” Photo: The produce in this photo is what one family received in a free farm box earlier this month. The Merc Coop in KCK donated bags for delivery. Donations in any amount help us also provide meat, cheese, eggs and honey for families who struggle to make ends meet. Want to be a part of KC Healthy Kids' Local Food solution? Donate today  The statewide network for Kansas food and farm councils has a new name. Kansas Alliance for Wellness is now Kansas Food Action Network. The name was chosen by council members and the network’s steering committee through conversations and reviews that took place over eight months. This change more accurately reflects the councils’ new focus on policy and systems work to improve the health of Kansas communities. Most recently, the network lobbied the Kansas legislature to end the Kansas state sales tax on groceries and celebrated the success of KC Healthy Kids’ work since 2014 to end the tax. What isn’t changing is the commitment of the people who make up the councils. “The people who make up Kansas’ food and farm councils are creative; they are resilient, pragmatic, boots-on-the-ground do-ers who are dedicated to making their food system work for everyone in their community.,” Miranda says. “They have to be! Most councils are entirely composed of volunteers, and rarely do they receive the thanks or recognition they deserve.” With the name change comes a new logo design conveying the interconnectedness of the food system and the ripple effect of the councils’ efforts. The American Heart Association coordinated the Kansas Alliance for Wellness since its inception in 2013 until 2019 when it passed the torch to KC Healthy Kids and Miranda Miller-Klugesherz became director of the program. To stay up-to-date with the Kansas Food Action Network, sign up for our monthly newsletter.  |
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