Kitchen Restore

06/17/2026

The elevator at the Riley County Courthouse Annex is out of service, and it may take two weeks for repairs. Kitchen Restore has requested a pause on donations during this time-- for the convenience of our donors and volunteers and due to limited storage space at the Riley County K-State Extension Office. We appreciate your interest in donating kitchenwares to Kitchen Restore (we couldn't do it without you!) and we look forward to regular operations when the elevator is back in service. Sorry for any inconvenience and thanks for your understanding!

06/09/2026

Donated items don't have to be large to be useful. Dishes and pots and pans are important, but every kitchen also needs these small tools to prepare nutritious meals. Kitchen Restore can repurpose your gently-used or new small utensils into our "kitchen starter kits" for local households in need. Donations may be taken to the Riley County Extension Office, Courthouse Annex 2nd floor, M-Th, 8-5, F 8-12. For more information, see: https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore Kitchen Restore is a community donation initiative of the Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan.

05/26/2026

Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor those we have lost. You can honor your loved one after a death by sharing some of their gently-used kitchenwares with us. Kitchen Restore is a community donation initiative of the Food and Farm Council which recycles new and gently-used kitchenwares into "kitchen starter kits" for local community members in need. Donated items may be taken to the Riley County Extension Office, Courthouse Annex 2nd floor, M-Th, 8-5, F 8-12. See our website at https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore for a list of items we can accept and more information. Please like and share this post to help us spread the word. Thanks!

05/12/2026

Kitchen Restore would like to thank the staff of Tuttle Creek State Park for your donation of kitchen items which were "retired" from cabins at the Park. Your support will allow us to create more kitchen starter kits to help local households prepare and share nourishing meals at home. Kitchen Restore is a volunteer donation project of the Food and Farm Council of Riley County and Manhattan to repurpose new and gently-used kitchenwares into basic kitchen starter kits for local households in need. Community donations may be taken to the Riley County Extension Office, 110 Courthouse Plaza 2nd floor, M-Th 8-5, F 8-12. See the list of items we can accept at our website at https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore

05/05/2026

Do you know students who are leaving their apartments soon? Tell them about Kitchen Restore! We can repurpose their unwanted kitchen items into “kitchen starter kits" for local households in need. Donations may be taken to the Riley County Extension Office, Courthouse Annex 2nd floor, M-Th 8-5, F 8-12. Kitchen Restore is a community donation project of the Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan. For more information, see https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore

Please like and share widely to help us spread the word!

04/28/2026

Nonstick pans don't last forever. America's Test Kitchen says there are three signs that a nonstick pan should be replaced. If you plan to donate a nonstick pan to Kitchen Restore, please do so while it is still in good, usable condition-- and before it shows any of these tell-tale signs:

1. If the coating is badly scratched or chipped, toss it.
Once it has started chipping, it will likely continue to chip because of the way the nonstick layer is bonded to the pan.

2. If the coating looks deeply scratched and dry.
Food will begin to stick to a pan that is deeply scratched. But if the surface looks whitish and dry, it’s likely that the nonstick coating has worn out to an extent that the pan should be discarded.

3. If everything seems to be sticking.
If food is sticking a lot, it’s truly time for a new pan.

Kitchen Restore is a community donation initiative of the Riley County and City of Manhattan Food and Farm Council where volunteers recycle new and gently-used kitchenwares into “kitchen starter kits" for local households in need. Please donate new or gently-used items that, as one of our team members says, "you would be proud to give your kids for their first apartments." Donate kitchenwares at the Riley County Extension Office, 110 Courthouse Plaza, 2nd floor, M-Th 8-5, F 8-12. For more information about Kitchen Restore and the kitchen items we can accept, see our website at https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore.

04/07/2026

To stay better connected, all Food and Farm Council programs will soon transition to the Nourish Together page. To stay informed about Kitchen Restore, please like and follow Nourish Together.

Q- Who receives a Kitchen Restore "kitchen starter kit?"
A- We don't know!
Kitchen Restore does not accept requests or hand out kitchen kits. Instead, we partner with 11 community assistance agencies in Manhattan and Riley County who screen clients and give kitchen kits to those in need. Partners include agencies like Shepherd's Crossing, WIC, Be Able Community, Manhattan Area Resettlement Team - MART and others.
Why involve these agencies in distributing Kitchen Restore kits? Because they already have screening procedures in place and because those who need a basic kitchen starter kit may also need other services that Kitchen Restore cannot provide. By working together, we can all cooperate to support local housholds in need.
You can help, too, by donating new or gently-used kitchen items or cash to help us create more kits. See the list of items we accept on our website or in the comments.
Kitchen Restore is a community donation initiative of the Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan. For more information, see https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore

03/31/2026

Kitchen Restore is one of the programs of the Riley County/Manhattan Food and Farm Council. To strengthen that connection, Kitchen Restore will soon transition to the Council’s Nourish Together page. Follow Nourish Together to stay connected!

When you donate gently-used or new kitchen measuring tools, you help our kitchen starter kits "measure up" for local households in need. Kitchen Restore is a community donation initiative of the Riley County and City of Manhattan Food and Farm Council. Donated kitchen items may be taken to the Riley County Extension Office, Courthouse Annex 2nd floor, M-Th 8-5, F 8-12. For more information and a list of the specific kitchen items we can accept, see https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore

03/10/2026

To make it easier to stay connected, all Food and Farm Council programs will soon transition to the Nourish Together page. To stay informed about Kitchen Restore, please like and follow Nourish Together. 

To use donated food effectively, a family also needs cooking and serving equipment. Kitchen Restore is a volunteer community donation initiative of the Food and Farm Council of Riley County and City of Manhattan to repurpose kitchenwares into "kitchen starter kits" for local households in need. Gently-used and new kitchen items may be donated at the Riley County Extension Office, 110 Courthouse Plaza, 2nd floor, M-Th 8-5, F 8-12. See the items we can accept in the comments. For more information, or to purchase from our Amazon wish list, see our website at https://www.nourishtogether.org/programs/kitchen-restore