‘Always in Season’ tee raises funds for neighborhood farmers market targeted by DEI-related cuts
March 6, 2025 | Taylor Wilmore
Kansas City designer Lauren Allen is serving up something fresh — both in style and in message. Her latest T-shirt for the Ivanhoe Farmers Market delivers a bold statement: “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion are always in season.”
Designed with vibrant vegetable illustrations, the shirt celebrates DEI while supporting a vital community resource — and its message comes at a crucial time, she said.
The Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council, which runs the farmers market, recently lost a $165,000 USDA grant because of President Trump’s federal rollbacks on DEI initiatives, threatening the neighborhood group’s plans to expand fresh food access in underserved areas.
Determined to help, Allen teamed up with the market’s marketing team to design the shirt, making the connection between DEI and fresh produce.
“I started thinking, how do we tie the two together? And this just came to me,” she said.
The result: a design that makes both a statement and a financial impact.
Click here to purchase a shirt or here for the related sticker design.
Designer Lauren Allen; photo by Taylor Wilmore, Startland News
A community connection
Allen’s collaboration with the Ivanhoe Farmers Market wasn’t a chance encounter. Her ties to the market stretch back to 2018 when she first started attending. Since then, she has built relationships through her involvement in Kansas City’s cycling community.
“I lead a cycling group called Women-Led Cycling, and we try to connect with local organizations doing good stuff,” Allen said. “A couple of years ago, the market’s marketing team reached out about collaborating on an event. I ended up organizing a bike ride that stopped at the market.”
Her ties deepened last year when the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council faced a controversy over a high-profile personnel dispute with multiple workers, she said.
“That wasn’t even a year ago,” Allen said. “And now this happened, so I reached out again and asked, ‘What can I do?’”
Designing fresh threads
Allen, who now leads a design team at MissionWired, has built a career in branding and digital design with a strong nonprofit focus. While her full-time role keeps her busy, she still takes on freelance projects for causes she cares about, including the Ivanhoe Farmers Market.
She’s also done volunteer work for Missouri Pit Bull Rescue and a cycling kit for Black-led group the Major Taylor Cycling Club.
“This design was special. The market team just said, ‘Maybe something that says diversity, equity, and inclusion with vegetables.’ And I started thinking, how do we make that connection? The phrase ‘always in season’ just came to me.”
Proceeds from the shirts will go to support the Ivanhoe Farmers Market and its mission of increasing fresh food access in the community.
“This is one of those moments where supporting locals is critical,” Allen emphasized. “The farmers market is doing such important work in that neighborhood, and with everything happening right now, we don’t know what’s left. It’s going to boil down to community and local support.”
Featured Business
Taylor Wilmore
Taylor Wilmore, hailing from Lee’s Summit, is a dedicated reporter and a recent graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Journalism. Taylor channels her deep-seated passion for writing and storytelling to create compelling narratives that shed light on the diverse residents of Kansas City.
Prior to her role at Startland News, Taylor made valuable contributions as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian newspaper, where she covered a wide range of community news and higher education stories.
2025 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
C2FO accesses $30M investment with World Bank-backed IFC to expand KC firm’s working capital platform
A just-announced capital infusion for Leawood-built C2FO reflects a shared commitment with global partners to boosting jobs and strengthening economic opportunities — notably for micro, small and medium enterprises in emerging markets worldwide. The $30 million funding round features investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and existing…
Park capping I-670 gets an official name: South Loop project to honor longtime Republican bridge-builder
Kansas City’s high-profile South Loop Project — a proposed sustainable urban park capping a portion of I-670 — now has a name that pays homage to a leader who played a key role in launching the project: Roy Blunt Luminary Park. “As a working title, the South Loop Project has served us well,” said Jeff…
Not just a pet project: Why this KC e-commerce team adopted a dog supplement brand as its own
The Morgans — the family behind Marknology, a bootstrapped digital marketing firm specializing in Amazon sales — are taking a dog supplement brand that they built as a client to the next level now as owners, they shared. Waggedy — veterinarian-formulated supplements to keep dogs healthy and active, launched by Ben Bellinson in 2015 in…
She’s the mixologist of melt: Jess Priemer blends a cocktail of Kansas City into candle scents
With niche blends like 18th & Vine (whiskey, tobacco, and rose) and KC BBQ (hickory, oak, and BBQ sauce), Jess Priemer evokes memories and local landmarks with the lighting of each wick. Her candles are the best part of what makes Kansas City uniquely home, she said. “I love this city, like everybody else around…