KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Ivanhoe Farmers Market distributed nearly 400 watermelons and other fresh foods at the neighborhood's watermelon festival.
"Ivanhoe neighborhood is a really special neighborhood," said 3rd District At-Large Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley. "There's a number of family farms."
The event offered families free watermelons to help beat the heat. Shoppers also could choose from fresh produce from local farms, using cash or food assistance benefits.
The market's 'Double Up Food Bucks program allows customers to maximize their purchasing power through a matching system.
"They could spend as little as $5 or as much as $200 to shop with vendors here," said Nadine Donovan, Ivanhoe events coordinator and farmers market manager. "Then, up to $25 per market day, we can match that in free produce dollars. If they spend $25 in EBT, they get $25 in free produce dollars."
The initiative comes as grocery prices continue to climb nationwide. A United States Department of Agriculture report found grocery prices are up nearly 3% nationally compared to this time last year.
"The price of food, all food, is really rising," Patterson Hazley said. "So it's a really great opportunity to come by and get something nutritious and delicious for free."
With the recent closure of the Sun Fresh Market at East 31st Street and Prospect Avenue, the need is great for this community.
"It's huge, especially since Sun Fresh, which was our local grocery store here in the neighborhood, just closed," Donovan said. "The access to fresh foods, especially for people who are using assistance benefits like EBT, they've lost that now."
The Ivanhoe market is also relying more heavily on community partnerships this year due to recent federal funding cuts.
"We've always depended on partnerships to do what we do, but now more than ever, it's so important to have as many volunteers, as many partnerships as we can," Donovan said.
Two blocks away, more initiatives to serve the community took place.
Convoy of Hope, a nonprofit addressing hunger needs, held its Kansas City Day of Hope, distributing free bags of food and clothing.
The group hopes to make the distribution of free food and clothes an annual event.
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