Kansas Food Bank seeks volunteers for Hunger Action Day

The Kansas Food Bank needs volunteers to help fill backpacks and bags Sept. 18.

That day is the Food Bank’s Hunger Action Day, which promotes more volunteerism at the Food Bank, said Debi Kreutzman, a spokeswoman for the agency. The Food Bank asks for volunteers but also hopes people will tour the warehouse and learn more about what the Food Bank does, she said.

The Food Bank takes donations, but also acquires low-cost food in bulk and distributes it to food pantries, schools and other agencies in Wichita and across the state.

Volunteers are needed to pack Food4Kids backpacks, which are sent to schools in Wichita and all over Kansas. The backpacks are sent home with children whom educators have identified as needy to help them have food over weekends when they are not eating school lunches.

Volunteers are also needed to pack bags of food or hygiene items sent in mobile units across the state to communities that lack a food pantry.

Volunteers are also needed to repack cereal. The Food Bank receives 300-pound boxes of cereal, Kreutzman said. Volunteers are needed to scoop cereal into smaller bags for redistribution to agencies feeding needy people and their children.

Volunteers should plan to help for an hour or two Sept. 18 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Kreutzman said. Individuals or groups of volunteers are welcome, she said.

For more information, call the Food Bank, 316 265-3663, and ask for Kreutzman or Larry Gunkel, or go to www.kansasfoodbank.org.

This story was originally published September 11, 2014 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Kansas Food Bank seeks volunteers for Hunger Action Day."