Kansas

Kansas food experts outline problems of waste and access at inaugural summit • Kansas Reflector

Published

2 years ago

August 29, 2024

Kansas food experts outline problems of waste and access at inaugural summit • Kansas Reflector

WICHITA — Food experts in Kansas say food waste is a growing problem in the state and solutions to food insecurity may lie within local connections.

ICT Food Rescue executive director Stephanie Merritt, in a presentation Wednesday at the inaugural Kansas Local Food Summit in Wichita, said food waste and food insecurity are two concerns that go together. Merritt’s organization gathers edible food that would be wasted in the Wichita metro area and redistributes it to 16 nonprofit organizations, including homeless shelters and recovery homes that serve people suffering from food insecurity.

More than 30 other Wichita-area groups are on a waiting list to receive food products from ICT Food Rescue. The agency was established in 2016, and Merritt said the nonprofit now features an Upcycle Kitchen housed in a church where an in-house chef reuses mail-delivery meals and fresh ingredients for clients in need. More than 50 volunteers “rescue” food every 48 hours from about 50 participating restaurants, nurseries, markets and caterers, Merritt said.

Last year, Merritt’s group collected more than 205,000 pounds of food, equal to about 171,000 meals. In the past 90 days, Merritt said her team has conducted almost 1,500 food rescues across the Wichita area.

“We’re offering a solution to food waste in our area,” Merritt said. “If you don’t live it, then you don’t see how big of a problem this is.”

ICT Food Rescue executive director Stephanie Merritt, far left, presents testimonials about the effectiveness of her organization during the Local Food Summit on Aug. 28, 2024, in Wichita. Merritt said her agency serves 16 nonprofit organizations around the Wichita area by providing quality rescued food from participating restaurants and markets. (AJ Dome for Kansas Reflector)

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2022 more than 10 million households across the country were considered food insecure. USDA statistics indicate about 30-40% of the nation’s food supply is wasted. Merritt said that is partly because of confusing labels on food products.

Consumers have a difficult time understanding the difference between an expiration date and a “best buy” date on food, as those labels are not government-mandated but are instead a food industry addition most often used to indicate freshness. Merritt said even she, as executive director of ICT Food Rescue, still gets confused by the dates printed on food products. She said dairy products make up the biggest food group wasted in Wichita and the state of Kansas, in part because of misunderstood labels.

Kansas State University Research and Extension agents held community roundtables around the state last autumn to discuss food challenges and needs. Across 14 different roundtable discussions, agents discovered Kansans want fresh, local food options available in local grocery stores, farmers markets and restaurants. They also learned that residents want stronger connections between food suppliers and their neighbors.

University of Missouri food systems professor Mary Hendrickson said the state of Kansas has changed in the last 40 years from a predominantly wheat-producing state to one that produces more corn and soybeans, mostly intended to be used for cattle feed.

“A lot of agriculture in Kansas is oriented toward large, globalized, consolidated chains,” Hendrickson said. “But there’s a lot of folks concerned about what that means for their communities, for their ecologies, and for their livelihood, so that’s when we start to talk about the alternatives.”

Hendrickson said the alternatives include ICT Food Rescue and other organizations that assist food-insecure residents. In Kansas’ rural and frontier communities, Hendrickson said, overall food security may involve “thinking big” on topics from water use and soil health to bolstering local partnerships.

She said food needs look different in rural parts of Kansas, where “food transactions” regularly include bartering for products or services. Enhanced partnerships across communities and organizations can help alleviate food insecurity, especially in sparsely populated regions, she said.

“We are sowing the seeds right now for what the future is going to look like,” Hendrickson said.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

Published

3 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Wednesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

6A Boys West Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka High 57, Washburn Rural 50 (will play Maize Saturday)
Junction City 70, Dodge City 56 (will play Derby Saturday)
Manhattan 58, Wichita-Northwest 56 (will play Wichita-East Saturday)

4A Boys East Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 62, Louisberg 57 (will play Bishop Miege Saturday)
Atchison 74, Wamego 43
Hayden 72, Independence 56 (will play Atchison Saturday)
Eudora 76, Santa Fe Trail 68

GIRLS

5A West Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hays 80, Topeka West 18
Eisenhower 55, Seaman 41
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 71, Emporia 41

5A East Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Shawnee Heights 89, Sumner 15 (will play Pittsburg Saturday)
Basehor-Linwood 74, Highland Park 28 (will play Piper Saturday)

3A Pomona-West Franklin Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Osage City 75, Columbus 31 (will play Frontenac Saturday)

3A Sabetha Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Silver Lake 48, Nemaha Central 26 (will play Riley County Saturday)
Riley County 51, Jeff West 40 (will play Silver Lake)

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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