Black Lives Matter Topeka is partnering with the boys Highland Park High School basketball team and Topeka Habitat for Humanity to distribute food boxes from Operation Food Secure, according to a post on the City of Topeka’s Facebook page.
The event takes place at Highland Park High School, 2424 S.E. California Ave., from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. on Saturday morning.
“Neighbors will receive a food box consisting of fresh produce, milk, and other items along with community resource information,” the Facebook post said. “The boxes will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.”
The Topeka Rescue Mission’s Operation Food Secure program was almost put on hold after federal funding lapsed, but Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas granted up to $350,000 to keep the program running while federal funding was approved, the Capital-Journal reported Jan. 8. The program focuses on delivering food “the last mile.”
Food insecure residents in northeast Kansas were almost faced with a multi-week gap in food boxes after a federal program didn’t receive funding in time, but Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas stepped in to fill the funding gap.
Congress approved the fifth round of “purchases” for the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program when it passed the COVID-19 relief bill in late December. But it will take weeks before the $1.5 billion in federal funding can get the program running again.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield granted up to $350,000 to the Topeka Rescue Mission’s Operation Food Secure initiative to ensure there is no gap in food supply in northeast Kansas.