Janice Witt, the founder of a mobile food distribution site, said today that she would not continue her efforts to have a food truck deliver food at the site near 88th and Parallel Parkway.
Last Saturday, food deliveries were not made to the site at CrossRoads Family Church, 8822 Parallel Parkway, by a food bank truck. The Unified Government had told the food bank that it thought traffic from the food distribution site would be a hazard.
Even though residents have launched a petition drive, Witt said she feels that if she is standing in the way of feeding 2,000 people, she needs to step aside and allow the people to speak for themselves.
Witt said she had hope that Harvesters food bank and the UG would feed the people, addressing a need in the community.
In a post to her Facebook page, Witt wrote, “I am done … If ‘obstinate Janice Witt’ has the power to stand in the way of feeding 2,000 people then I officially am out of the way.”
This publication has not been notified of any new food distribution site to take the place of the one at the CrossRoads Church. However, Witt said she had been approached to move the mobile food distribution site to the former Walmart building site at 6565 State Ave., which is now the Kansas City Kansas Community College TEC building.
Witt said she would still continue to work with the food pantry inside the church, and also with the thrift room there. To use them, people need to make an appointment for Monday or Wednesday evenings.
Witt said she had many calls from people who needed food assistance, and that many showed up Monday night. The food pantry inside the church now is close to being out of food, she added.
“We got hit so hard last night, and we couldn’t turn them away,” she said. Many who picked up food Monday night would have come to the Saturday food distribution had it been held, she said.
Witt had named the assistance center after her mother, the Reola Grant Civitan Center, and she talks about how there are hungry people in western Kansas City, Kan. Her mother helped feed many needy persons in the area.
She said she continues to receive calls from people who need food. Just today she received a call from a senior citizen who has a new medical diagnosis that will require her to spend her limited income on medications, and who needs help from a food pantry, she said.
The mobile food pantry at the CrossRoads Church was serving 1,100 individuals, Witt said.
For the most part, other mobile food pantries in the community are close to downtown or eastern Kansas City, Kan. Witt said it was important to have a mobile food site in the area near 88th and Parallel because there are some people who walk to it.
There are several food pantries in western Kansas City, Kan., inside buildings that distribute food, by appointment.
Witt, a former candidate for mayor, said that although she has not yet officially filed for office, she is now intending to run for the UG Commission, 1st District at large seat, because of what happened with the mobile food distribution site.
Other mobile food truck sites include two that are south of State Avenue: Bethel SDA Church, 6910 Riverview Ave.; and High Hopes II, 7725 Kansas Ave.
Regular food pantries located within the area include Judson Baptist Church, 8300 State Ave.; Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th; High Hopes II, 7725 Kansas Ave.; the Salvation Army, 6721 State Ave.; and the Reola Grant Civitan Family Life Development Center Store House, 8822 Parallel Parkway. Most food pantries have regular hours by appointment only.
Some persons also may qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. To apply for SNAP (food stamps), visit www.benefitsapplication.com/program_info/KS/Food%20Stamps/?gclid=m.
