Kansas
Kansas food pantry monitors growing need with SNAP cuts, food insecurity rises in WyCo
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The U.S. House passed the “Big Beautiful Bill” package Thursday, which includes tax breaks, cuts to Medicaid, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.
Kansas food pantry monitors growing need as food insecurity rises in WyCo
The bill, for some, means a shift in how they live.
Republicans say the bill still provides help for those who need it, but claim it also targets waste, fraud, and abuse.
Patrick Semansky/AP
Local food pantries, including Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, are bracing for what the new legislation will mean for their clients.
They serve 21 northeast Kansas counties, with two food pantry locations in Wyandotte County.
“The population in Wyandotte County is the lowest income we serve,” said Denise Ogilvi, chief mission integration officer for Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas. “About 18% of the population in Wyandotte County falls below the poverty level. The poverty level in the state of Kansas is about $32,000 (of income per year) for a family of four.”
Brian Luton/KSHB
Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas’ mission is to offer people of all faiths help, hope, and hospitality.
It’s food pantry locations are client choice, operating similar to a grocery store.
The downtown Kansas City, Kansas, location sits between what the United States Department of Agriculture classifies as a “Food Desert.”
KSHB 41
Earlier this week, MERC Co+Op, a grocery store in downtown KCK, announced it would suspend operations in December 2025.
“It was definitely needed. This is a food desert area,” said Paula Flattery-Aaron from the Strawberry Hill Neighborhood Association. “We have one grocery store on 18th Street, then the rest are further west.”
Al Miller/KSHB 41
According to the USDA, to be labeled a Food Desert a community must meet the low-income and low-access requirements.
Those include a poverty rate of 20% or greater, or a median family income at or below 80% of the statewide or metropolitan area median family income.
At least 500 persons and/or 33% of the population lives more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store (10 miles for rural communities).
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“You can imagine that if you can probably barely pay your rent on $32,000, you will probably need additional support to help your family,” said Ogilvi.
That’s where Catholic Charities comes in, with 150,000 visits to its food pantry locations last year.
This year, that number already jumped to nearly 175,000.
Brian Luton/KSHB
“The need is definitely great,” added Ogilvi.
The republican backed federal legislation is expected to cut $230 billion from SNAP over the next decade.
The bill would require states to pay at least 5% of the SNAP program’s costs starting in 2028.
The program is currently federally funded.
RTV6
Historically, funding comes from passing a piece of legislation known as the Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill is a multi-billion dollar omnibus package, with nearly 80% of the farm commodity bill spent on nutrition programs like SNAP.
That legislation is two years past due for passage by Congress.
Ryan Gamboa/KSHB
In addition to new funding cuts, the Big Beautiful Bill would create tighter work requirements to be eligible for aid, raising the age requirement from 54 to 64.
It would also force parents with children older than six to meet the work requirements.
Parents with dependent kids at home are exempt.
Brian Luton/KSHB
“Most people only come to our food pantry once a month. They are going to need more food than what they get at our food pantry,” Ogilvi explained. “SNAP benefits provide about nine meals for every one meal that we can provide.”
Catholic Charities is continuing to gather data across the communities it serves to better understand the need.
They will begin having conversations on whether they need to budget more money for food, expand their current locations, or open more locations.
“What we can do is try to make sure that our door is always open,” added Ogilvi. “Not for profits can’t fill the whole gap.”
For more information on how to get involved with Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas, click here.
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KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Boeing is making a billion-dollar investment in its Wichita location over the next three years, the company announced Monday.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the investment will be used to upgrade facilities, expand employee training and strengthen the production system.
He said this will prepare the facility for a higher production rate, especially as Boeing tries to keep up with a record-high demand. The company is currently sitting on a backlog of 6,100 commercial planes, valued at $695 billion.
“It’s going to take the skills and capabilities of all of you to help us deliver on our record backlogs and meet the growing demand in aerospace,” Ortberg said. “And I know the 13,000 Wichita teammates are ready to deliver on that promise.”
There could be even more work coming to the facility. Reuters reported that Ortberg will be going to China with President Donald Trump and a few other leaders in the tech industry to talk about trade and investment opportunities.
Lt. Gov. David Toland said that more work at the company will help the Wichita economy and that it is up to the city to build up the workforce.
“We’ve got a company that’s put its money where its mouth is,” Toland said. “And as Kansans, as Wichitans, it’s on us now that we’re continuing to skill up our workforce, that we’re creating the talent pipeline that’s essential to allowing companies like Boeing to continue growing.”
Over the past several years, Wichita has invested in the aviation workforce. This includes expanding aviation education at WSU Tech and tapping students in WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research to help with federal projects like the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.
Last week, Boeing and WSU Tech announced a new partnership to build a workforce training center that will be a hub for Boeing’s Wichita workforce.
Sen. Jerry Moran hopes Boeing’s investments will ease concerns or caution surrounding the company’s return to Wichita and build on the city’s reputation in the aviation industry.
“You’ve heard me say that people come here and we convince them that this is the Air Capital of the World,” Moran said. “I don’t think we need any more convincing. This is now known. We are the Air Capital of the World.”
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Gage Workman came off the bench and hit his first major league homer, a two-run shot that sent the Detroit Tigers past the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Sunday night to snap a five-game losing streak.
Matt Vierling had a two-run double and Riley Greene reached safely four times as the Tigers prevented a three-game sweep.
Called up hours earlier from Triple-A Toledo when Kerry Carpenter was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder sprain, Workman entered as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.
Workman drove a 1-1 slider from Nick Mears (2-2) to right field to give Detroit a 5-3 lead.
Wenceel Pérez added an RBI single in the seventh.
Enmanuel De Jesus (2-0), the fourth of six Tigers pitchers, retired all seven batters he faced. Kenley Jansen struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 483rd career save and seventh this season.
Kansas City lost for only the third time in 10 games.
Hao-Yu Lee’s two-out RBI triple off the outstretched glove of Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone opened the scoring in the second. Zack Short walked and Vierling delivered a two-run double off the left-field wall to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
In the third, Kansas City greeted reliever Drew Anderson with three straight hits, scoring their first run on a hit-and-run, opposite-field single by Vinnie Pasquantino, and another on Carter Jensen’s sacrifice fly.
In the fourth, Caglianone doubled to left-center and scored the tying run on Maikel Garcia’s third hit, a two-out single to center.
Royals starter Noah Cameron exited after allowing a leadoff hit in the fifth on his 95th pitch. He allowed three runs and five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
The top three Kansas City batters combined for seven of the team’s eight hits.
Greene has reached base safely in a career-best 21 consecutive games. In 27 games since April 11, he is batting .384 with 13 extra-base hits.
Up next
Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (0-3, 5.56 ERA) faces Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (2-3, 3.12) on Tuesday night in New York.
Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (1-0, 4.50 ERA) pitches Tuesday in Chicago against White Sox RHP Erick Fedde (0-4, 3.79).
Four teens hurt in southeast Kansas rollover
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Four teenagers are hurt after being in a rollover crash on Sunday.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said a 16-year-old girl was behind the wheel of a Jeep. She went off the road, hit a culvert and rolled.
The crash happened just after midnight near the intersection of North 150th and North streets, northeast of Girard.
Man dead after downtown Wichita shooting
Two 15-year-olds and a 13-year-old were passengers in the Jeep. All four teens were hurt and taken to the hospital after the crash.
The driver received suspected serious injuries, and the rest received suspected minor injuries.
For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news by downloading our mobile app and signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track 3 Weather app by clicking here. To watch our shows live on our website, click here.
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