Prospect KC finds new home for its fight against food apartheid; culinary training moves to The Paseo

A new pairing between The Prospect KC and Nourish KC sets the table for transformation within Kansas City’s food deserts, said award-winning Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant, announcing the relocation of her social enterprise and its game-changing culinary training program.

The collaboration combines the strengths of both organizations in their fights against hunger, leaders said, with The Prospect KC moving its catering commissary and job training initiative into NourishKC’s community kitchen at 750 Paseo Blvd.

Melanie Tull, NourishKC

“By joining forces with The Prospect KC, we blend our common agendas,” said Melanie Tull, chairwoman for NourishKC, a community staple established 35 years ago in the heart of Kansas City. “We’re not simply feeding people — we’re empowering them with knowledge and skills to break the cycle of food insecurity.”

Click here to learn more about NourishKC and its mission to eliminate hunger and improve nutrition in neighborhoods across the city by rescuing fresh, local food, preparing nutritious meals.

Modeled as a high-impact solution to hunger, homelessness, and poverty, The Prospect KC was launched in 2019 to serve Kansas City’s east side — a neighborhood struggling with food apartheid, a racist and oppressive system that creates inequitable food systems.

Through their new partnership, the two organizations plan to offer immediate relief and build long-term solutions, Tull said, focusing on critical aspects of systems-level issues through such tactics as:

• leveraging The Prospect KC’s community networks to enhance NourishKC’s food rescue efforts and expand food rescue and distribution;
• combining NourishKC’s meal programs with The Prospect KC’s nutritional education initiatives; 
• and creating pathways to employment in the food sector and related industries by utilizing The Prospect KC’s innovative workforce development and culinary job training expertise.

“We’re excited to bring our workforce development experience to this partnership,” said McAfee-Bryant, whose The Prospect KC and The Spot space opened in 2022 in the historic 18th & Vine District. “Together with NourishKC, we’ll create opportunities beyond immediate food assistance, fostering long-term stability for individuals and families.”

The Nook space inside the Central Library in downtown Kansas City; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

While The Spot has now closed, The Prospect KC plans to continue its collaboration with the Kansas City Library at The Nook inside the Central Library at 14 W. 10th St. in Kansas City. The coffee bar-café provides a live training environment for The Prospect KC’s culinary students.

ICYMI: Prospect KC brews coffee bar collab with Messenger inside iconic downtown KC library

In fall 2023, students from McAfee-Bryant’s job training program won the second annual Gumbo Fest competition organized by The Prospect KC, outside its former space at 2000 Vine. Plans are in the works for Gumbo Fest to return Oct. 6. A location is being finalized.

Gumbo prepared by students at the Prospect KC for the 2023 Gumbo Fest competition; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

Students from the Prospect KC with judges and organizers at the 2023 Gumbo Fest competition; photo by Tommy Felts, Startland News

NourishKC’s community kitchen at 750 Paseo Blvd.; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

The NourishKC collaboration comes with leadership enhancements, McAfee-Bryant and Tull said. Both organizations will maintain their identities while creating a joint leadership team to oversee shared initiatives. This structure ensures streamlined decision-making and maximizes the impact of combined resources.

“The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on the old but on building the new,” said Andrea Newton, board president for The Prospect KC Board. “The NourishKC and The Prospect KC partnership will greatly benefit our community in many impactful ways. And in a nod to the late senator and civil rights activist John Lewis, the partnership represents two entities of ‘good trouble’ in one collective force.”

NourishKC and The Prospect KC plan to roll out integrated programs over the coming months, with initial joint initiatives launching immediately.

Both organizations assure their supporters that all current programs and services will continue uninterrupted, with plans for expansion and enhancement.