09/18/2026
THANK YOU, LIONS!
Soon the Community Access Center will have a new freezer unit! Read all about it here.
LIONS CLUBS ANNOUNCE DELIVERY OF $44,000 GRANT TO ASSIST WITH FOOD RESOURCE
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. — Lions Club members across southern Kansas are celebrating today the receipt of a major grant that will be used to address food scarcity in southeast Kansas.
Lions Clubs at the local, district and international levels gathered at the Community Access Center (CAC) in Independence to announce the receipt of a $44,000 grant through the Lions Club International Foundation (LCIF) to go toward the purchase a new walk-in freezer unit for the center, which is located in Independence.
The new walk-in freezer, which will measure 30’ x 12’ x 8’, will replace a nearly 35-year-old unit that is no longer serviceable, and requires continual monitoring to make sure its critical components do not become inoperable.
Located at 807 W. Pecan in Independence, the Community Access Center is a regional hub for the distribution of food to pantries across Montgomery County and the surrounding area. Tens of thousands of pounds of fresh food flow through the Community Access Center each week, often requiring a large-volume freezer unit for cold storage.
Without that freezer unit, a sizable portion of food that is geared for residents in southeast Kansas would not be available.
Therefore, it was imperative for Lions Clubs across Montgomery and Wilson counties to unite behind a fund drive for the purchase of a new freezer unit.
More than one year ago, the Independence Lions Club instigated the effort to address the Community Access Center’s freezer. The Independence club reached out to chapters in Coffeyville, Caney, Fredonia and Neodesha for a fund drive effort to replace that walk-in freezer unit. That campaign has been bolstered with a $44,000 grant from Lions Club International Foundation. District and international officials saw that area clubs were not only uniting behind a common cause but also addressing one of the key pillars of Lions worldwide: addressing food scarcity and hunger.
The Lions Clubs’ efforts and the LCIF grant will go exclusively toward the purchase of the walk-in freezer unit. Officials are now hopeful for a secondary grant that, if awarded, would go toward the shipping/freight of the unit, as well as the installation of the unit. The installation will be handled by Independence Heating and Air, an Independence-based contractor.
The totality of the project will result in a nearly $94,000 investment — thanks to local Lions Club fund drives, numerous donations from other organizations, a sizable LCIF grant, plus the impending grant for the shipping and installation of the walk-in freezer unit.
The Lions Clubs that led the local initiative include the Caney Lions Club, Coffeyville Daylight Defenders Lions Club, Coffeyville Noon Lions Club, Fredonia Lions Club, Independence Lions Club and the Neodesha Lions Club.
Other major contributors include the Kansas Food Bank, the Southeast Kansas Area Agency on Aging, Independence Masonic Lodge, Independence Heating and Air, and the third grade class from St. Andrew Catholic School in Independence.
In all, more than $75,000 has been raised for this project. It is anticipated that the remaining $27,650 will be raised by the end of September.
Once fundraising is completed in the coming weeks, the project will move to the actual acquisition and installation of the new walk-in freezer, which will likely be completed by end of the 2026.Individuals or organizations that want to contribute toward the fulfillment of the remainder of the fundraising drive should contact Chris Mitchell, director of the Community Access Center, at (620) 331-5115.
For more information about the Independence Lions Club, contact Warren Tharp, president, at (620) 332-9131. For information about Lions Clubs in the Montgomery and Wilson county region, contact Charlotte Caflisch, zone director, at (620) 332-7967.
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Caption: Presenting the $44,400 check to the Community Access Center were Clark Lindstrom (far left), Kansas Lions 17N past district governor, and Melanie Snyder, Kansas Lions 17N current district governor (far right). Accepting the check were Chris Mitchell (second from left), CAC director; and Louis Ysusi, (second from right), CAC board of directors chairman. The check will be used for the purchase of a new walk-in freezer unit at the Community Access Center. The nearly 35-year-old freezer unit that is nearly inoperable is in the background.
