KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In an effort to promote a more healthy, affordable and sustainable food system, Food Day is celebrated around the country October 24 each year.
Food Day is a chance to celebrate what our food system does right and take action to bring us closer to a food system with “real food” that is produced with care for the environment, animals and the women and men who grow, harvest and serve it. Food Day’s priorities are to:
- Promote safer, healthier diets
- Support sustainable and organic farms
- Reduce hunger
- Reform factory farms to protect the environment
- Support fair working conditions for food and farm workers
In metro Kansas City, some Food Day events include a free Apple Share program at six different locations and an apple tree planting by Giving Grove at Grandview High School. The Apple Share program will be at the following locations on Wednesday, Oct. 24:
- Children’s Mercy Hospital, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
- KCATA Downtown Transit Center (10th and Main), 11 a.m-1 p.m.
- American Century Investments, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Johnson County Department of Health, Department of Vehicles, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- KU Med Center, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Rosedale Neighborhood in Kansas City, Kan. (various locations), 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Grown in Ivanhoe will celebrate Food Day with a Free Lunch Box farm stand on Oct. 24 in the area of 35th and Paseo and will have a variety of healthy food that kids can come pick up for free throughout the school day. Food is being provided by Good Natured Family Farms and the Harvest Learning Center. The Truman Medical Center’s Mobile Markets will hold Apple Share events Oct. 23 and Oct. 25 from 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
“Eating real is about food that nourishes our bodies, the environment and our community,” said Gordon Rock, chair of the Greater Kansas City Food Day Planning Committee. “The Apple Share is a fun way to demonstrate that real food, like local apples, can be a delicious fast food. Folks will get an apple, as well as information about how to incorporate real foods, and the principles of Food Day, into their lives all year long.”
Other events leading up to Food Day in Kansas City’s metro area include gleaning local farms for fresh food that would go to waste, a Food Day fair, Food Day crop mob and healthy cooking classes.
Food Day Events
- Oct. 23-25 — Apple Share, free apples and Food Day information at various metro locations, www.fooddaykc.org
- Oct. 24 — Apple tree planting by Giving Grove, Grandview High School, 10 a.m.
- Oct. 24 — Cooking demonstrations and more, Paul Henson Family YMCA, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Oct. 24 — All Day, Eat Local For the Holidays kicks off, Greater Kansas City Food Policy Coalition,
- Take the pledge at www.eatlocalkc.net
- Oct. 24 — Free Screening of HBO’s Weight of the Nation, Wyandotte High School auditorium, 5:30 p.m.
- Oct. 25 — SOSA West After the Harvest Breakfast, 8 a.m.
- Oct. 27 — Food Day Crop Mobs, Cultivate KC, 9 a.m.
- Oct. 27 — Gleaning Local Farms, SOSA West, 8 a.m.
For more information visit fooday.org.