Northland Clothing Center serves hundreds more clients as families struggle with rising costs

KSHB 41 News reporter Lauren Schwentker covers stories in the Northland, including in Clay and Platte counties. Have a story idea? Send her an email.

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The Northland Clothing Center is serving hundreds more clients than usual as inflation forces families across Clay and Platte counties to make difficult financial choices.

"The financial climate right now is making a lot of families choose between feeding their families or clothing their families," Northland Clothing Center Executive Director Marjie Siegfried-Stuber said.

The center, which organizes donated clothing by size with the help of volunteers, has seen demand spike.

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"At the end of 2025, during our back-to-school time, we saw an increase of 234% in the number of people we had served in previous months," Siegfried-Stuber said.

With back-to-school season approaching, the center's team is already preparing for another surge.

North Kansas City Schools is the center's largest single referral source, and more than 30 schools within the district connect families in need with the organization.

"North Kansas City Schools is our largest single referral source, but there are 30-plus schools within the North Kansas City School District that refer people to us," Siegfried-Stuber said.

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Schools across Clay and Platte counties help refer students in need to the center. Head Start, a federal program that provides education and support to low-income families, is also among those connecting families with clothing resources.

Christina Paretta, a Head Start family advocate, said the clothing center stands out because of how little it asks of the families it serves.

"It can be difficult, especially since a lot of places need a lot of things from families when you go to get the items like food or clothing, and that's one thing that's really amazing about the clothing center, is once they get a referral, they don't ask any more of the parent," Paretta said.

Paretta said the rising cost of living and a shortage of early childhood programs are compounding the hardship for families in the area.

"The cost of everything increasing so much is a hardship on the families, and the lack of early childhood programs is difficult as well. We're the only Head Start program in Clay or Platte County, and we only can serve 166 kids," Paretta said.

Siegfried-Stuber said families in need should not hesitate to reach out.

The Northland Clothing Center is located at 3939 N. Cleveland Ave. in Kansas City, Missouri.

It's open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., and the first Saturday of each month.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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