FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SENT Inc. and Kansas City Food Hub Partner to Strengthen Food Access and Community Health in Southeast Topeka
TOPEKA, KS, October 28, 2025 – SENT Inc. has announced a new partnership with the Kansas City Food Hub (KCFH) that will deliver fresh, locally sourced produce directly to SENT each week. The collaboration will support SENT’s efforts to strengthen food security and advance holistic community health in Southeast Topeka.
Beginning on October 27, 2025, KCFH will deliver fresh produce every week, free of delivery charge, to SENT’s Southside campus. This partnership creates a reliable and resilient food supply chain that connects regional farmers directly to the community, ensuring consistent access to nutritious fruits and vegetables year-round.
The partnership kicked off with an inaugural delivery that included 160 pie pumpkins, offered free to neighborhood residents for cooking or carving. This delivery also featured seasonal produce such as zucchini, yellow squash, green bell peppers, red slicing tomatoes, butternut squash, and Kansas-grown Gala apples, all sourced from small family farms within 100 miles of our campus.
These deliveries will supplement SENT’s food access programs, including the Southside Filling Station Food Pantry and the Food is Medicine initiative, which integrates nutrition into holistic health care through the Southside Wellness Clinic.
“This partnership helps add resilience to our food system and ensures that access to fresh produce isn’t dependent on distance or income,” said Johnathan Sublet, Executive Director of SENT Inc. “It’s about walking alongside our neighbors in a sustainable way that supports their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We’re grateful to the Kansas City Food Hub for helping us take another step toward building a thriving, self-sustaining neighborhood.”
This partnership was made possible through the connection facilitated by Erika Debrick Kelly, Executive Director of Hunger Free Kansas, who helped bring SENT and the Kansas City Food Hub together to expand access to fresh, healthy food in Southeast Topeka.
Additionally, this partnership lays the groundwork for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program tailored to the Hi-Crest and Southeast Topeka communities. The program will connect residents directly with local farmers through a subscription model that provides families with weekly boxes of fresh, seasonal produce. This approach will make an impact in three important ways. It helps families overcome the transportation hurdle that can prevent access to fresh and nutritious foods. It reduces cost barriers by offering affordable, locally grown produce. And it keeps SENT from being the bottleneck, empowering families to access healthy food directly from farmers while still receiving support through SENT’s broader wraparound model.
Additionally, SENT and KCFH are exploring the development of Food as Medicine boxes, which will allow medical providers at the Southside Wellness Clinic to prescribe nutrition boxes customized to patients’ dietary needs and health goals.
“We see this as the next evolution in community-based wellness,” Sublet added. “When medical care and nutrition align, we not only treat illness, we prevent it. By investing in sustainable, local partnerships like this one, we’re making sure families can access healthy foods as part of their care, not apart from it.”
The Kansas City Food Hub, based in Kansas City, Missouri, is a farmer-owned cooperative connecting wholesale buyers, institutions, and nonprofits with fresh, locally grown produce. KCFH partners with more than 60 producers across the Midwest to expand access to healthy food and strengthen regional food systems.
“Working with SENT allows us to live out our mission, connecting local farms to local families,” said Thomas Smith, Chief Business Officer for the Kansas City Food Hub. “We’re excited to collaborate on this shared vision of food equity and community wellness.”
Through partnerships like this, SENT continues to advance its mission to strengthen and equip neighborhoods together through loving relationships and strategic development to achieve holistic neighborhood transformation.
About SENT Inc.
SENT Inc. (Strengthening and Equipping Neighborhoods Together) is a nonprofit organization committed to holistic neighborhood transformation in Southeast Topeka. Through affordable housing, food access, mental and physical health services, and workforce development, SENT partners with residents to strengthen families and create thriving communities.
About Kansas City Food Hub
The Kansas City Food Hub (KCFH) is a farmer-owned cooperative dedicated to strengthening the local food system through sustainable partnerships. KCFH connects farmers across Kansas and Missouri with schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and community organizations, providing access to fresh, local produce while supporting the economic resilience of regional growers.
Media Contact:
Johnathan Sublet
Executive Director, SENT Inc.
📧 johnathan@senttopeka.com | 📞 785-783-2535
🌐 www.senttopeka.com