This May was jam-packed at the Pilgrim Center! First, we had Destiney, Karen, and Joselyn interning with us from Guadalupe Centers High School. A big thank you to them for working on the Pilgrim Chapel, our Civic Saturday event, and our Habitat Restoration Initiative. And congratulations on graduating high school!

 

Then there were our SIX Rockhurst High School service students. They accomplished tasks that would have taken our small staff long hours to complete. They stayed busy mixing three cubic yards of potting soil media, filling more than a thousand pots and trays, transplanting hundreds of plugs, clearing invasive bush honeysuckle, wintercreeper, and ailanthus, weeding the Labyrinth, and so much much more. Thank you for your time and energy, Henry, Henry, Ryan, Tucker, Spencer, and Rohan. We wish you the best of luck at school this fall!

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And we hope you were able to join us for the third Civic Saturday in Kansas City!

 

Civic Saturdays are all about a renewed sense of shared civic purpose through reflection, reckoning, and re-commitment.

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We were thrilled to partner with the Kansas City Public Library, American Public Square, the University of Missouri Extension Program, and Consensus KC to bring you this FREE, engaging panel in the Pilgrim Chapel and outdoor resource fair.

 

The purpose of this event was to encourage our fellow community members to learn more about how we can increase food security in Kansas City.

 

We started the event with a moderated panel featuring local experts Lara Isch, Sustainability Manager for the city of Kansas City, Missouri; Dr. Marvia Jones, Kansas City, Missouri Director of Health; Mary Esselman, CEO of Operation Breakthrough; and Natasha Bailey, Leader of Thelma’s Kitchen and co-host of Hungry for MO podcast. They shared what is happening in Kansas City, how the City is countering food insecurity, and what Kansas Citians can do to connect with resources, whether they need help or want to help.

 

Then we headed out into Hyde Park to enjoy a FREE resource fair where many local organizations were ready to share their role in providing food for our city.

 

Click here to view a printable event map.

 

We heard all about what groups like The Kansas City Public Library Seed Library, University of Missouri Extension, Thelma's Kitchen, the Kansas City Community Gardens, The Pilgrim Center, Cultivate KC, The Giving Grove, After the Harvest, Central Presbyterian Church, and more are doing right now in KC!

 

Plus, we visited with the weed-chomping pygmy goats Sassy and Agnes of Goats On The Go; enjoyed FREE boxed lunches from Thelma's Kitchen; and got our growing season started with container salad gardens, vegetable plants, seeds, and more!

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