Cany Valley Agape Network Family for Rural Healthy Food Access

The CVAN is the formation a networked family of cooperating rural communities, pantries, and service organizations in an economically depressed region to distribute available foods freely, but targeting those in need and improving the health of all in this health-challenged region.

CVAN is the Kansas conduit for tons of healthy produce from the Catholic Charities Mary Martha Organization--the steward of excess highly perishable high quality foods from a huge Walmart Distribution Center in Oklahoma. As food supplies allow, CVAN distributes to the 100 square mile school district and to share with a networked family of pantries and volunteer organizations in five Kansas counties and South Coffeyville, OK. As needed, CVAN has recruited distribution volunteers in covering communities within this economically depressed region. The network family was built upon the CVAN’s supply of fresh produce, but is now blessing this area with distribution of CARES foods during the COVID crisis. Its volunteers are food warriors--winning in the fight against rural hunger.

CVAN’s primary distribution area is the rural school district noted by the USDA as a “food desert”, but the distribution regularly expands to other food insecure areas as fresh produce becomes available. Typically, each week will bring 20 to 30 full pallets of healthy foods for distribution—and distributors take more than half directly to homes or to other communities for their local access to free and healthy foods.
CVAN began in 2018, and grew quickly from ~700/week to 3,000/week on a regular basis. COVID increased the need for food access—and CVAN was blessed with increased excess supplies for the network: over 5000 people/week were served in July of 2020. Large quantity portions are provided to soup kitchens, Meals on Wheels, and communal living programs such as jail transition and drug rehabilitation facilities, homeless shelters, and jails.
In addition to the CVAN produce supply, the CVAN model and connections that have graced the mission have assisted other network-family organizations in distributing breads and other goods that become available to those in need. During CARES, network-family organizations were able to distribute semi-loads of CARES foods to small rural communities that would otherwise only be available at large population centers. Its volunteers are diverse and provide positive actions for many, including youth groups, drug rehabilitation residents, local clubs, and county jail residents. They are “Neighbors Helping Neighbors”.