Healthy Harvey Coalition

09/03/2026

Farm Stands & Home Bakeries (Harvey Co KS area)

09/01/2026

Healthy Harvey Coalition is excited to team up with Prairie View and United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties for Chalk It Out, September 7-11!

Su***de Prevention Month is a time to come together as a community, and this week we're doing that one sidewalk at a time. We're asking businesses, organizations, and community members to fill sidewalks throughout Harvey and Marion Counties with messages of hope, encouragement, and support.

Want to get involved? Contact Brad at [email protected] to sign up. Free chalk is available for participating organizations that need it.

Share photos of your chalk art and tag Prairie View, United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties, and Healthy Harvey Coalition so we can help spread these messages of hope across our community.

***deAwareness ***dePreventionMonth

Prairie View is excited to partner with United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties and Healthy Harvey Coalition for Chalk It Out, September 7-11!

Together, we're encouraging businesses, organizations and community members to fill sidewalks throughout our communities with messages of hope, encouragement and support during Su***de Prevention Month.

Want to participate? Contact Brad at [email protected] to sign up. Prairie View has free chalk available for participating organizations that need it!

During Chalk It Out week, we encourage participants to share photos of their creations and tag Prairie View, United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties, and Healthy Harvey Coalition so we can help share these messages throughout the community.

United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties Healthy Harvey Coalition

We'll be sharing more information about Chalk It Out tomorrow!

***deAwareness

09/01/2026

🥕 Could a fresh food market work in Hesston? We want to hear from you.

Hesston has been without a grocery store since 2018. With funding from the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative, we’re exploring whether a fresh food market could be a sustainable option for the community.

But we need your voice as part of that conversation.

📅 Wednesday, September 16
⏰ 6:30–8:00 p.m.
📍 Hesston High School Performing Arts Center, 200 N. Ridge Rd

During the Town Hall, we’ll:

🥕 Introduce the project and what we hope to learn
💬 Answer questions about the project and research process
📖 Discuss Hesston’s history with grocery stores and previous efforts to bring one back
🔎 Talk about what comes next, including community surveys, focus groups, conversations with local growers and other research
❓ Hear the questions and concerns you think we should consider as we move forward

Most importantly, no decision has been made. This grant funds research, not the construction or opening of a market. The goal is to gather good information, involve the community throughout the process, and ultimately understand whether a fresh food market could work in Hesston.

Whether you’ve lived in Hesston for decades or are new to the community, we hope you’ll join us and help kick off this process.

Please RSVP so we can plan for the room, and bring your questions! Feel free to share this invitation with friends and neighbors, too.

RSVP here: https://forms.gle/mes2a1cECkmEi5U29

Hosted by United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties and the Healthy Harvey Coalition, with the Hesston Chamber, Kansas Horizon Foundation, and Harvey County Food & Farm Council.

08/19/2026

The Harvey County Childcare Task Force is partnering with other childcare champions in the region to host a Childcare Business Summit!

Childcare isn’t just a family issue. It’s a workforce and economic development issue. This summit will bring together business leaders, employers, and community partners to explore practical ways we can strengthen childcare and support workforce participation across our region.

📅 Tuesday, August 25, 2026
⏰ 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
📍 McPherson Community Building
🍽️ Lunch will be provided

We’ll discuss childcare tax credits, resources available to business owners, the Tri-Share Model, Childcare Zones, and opportunities for employers and community partners to connect and collaborate.

Whether you’re an employer, HR professional, economic development leader, community partner, or simply interested in strengthening our regional workforce, we’d love to have you at the table.

👉 Register here: https://forms.gle/aGDBrZQCsRjuWLUD8

08/18/2026

Have an idea for a project that will expand healthy food access at the retail level in your community? Need support getting your project from an idea to the next stage?

The next round of the Kansas Healthy Food Initiative Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grant application is now open!

These grants can help move projects that are still in the early concept or predevelopment stages forward by supporting early stage activities such as market or feasibility research, architectural design assistance or site planning, community assessments and engagement, business planning, and legal counsel.

📅 Applications are due September 25, 2026 by 11:59 PM Central Time.

Learn more, register for optional office hours, and access the application here: https://kansashealthyfood.org/programdetails/assistance/

07/16/2026

🥕🍅 Fresh from the garden… and it’s FREE! 🌶️🥒

Our Healthy Harvey Coalition Pop-Up Garden is producing, and we’d love to share the harvest with our community.

Stop by the garden outside the United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties office and help yourself to fresh produce while supplies last. Availability changes throughout the season, but today you can find carrots and jalapeños.

The Pop-Up Garden is one small way we’re working to make fresh, healthy food more accessible in Harvey County. If you stop by, we’d love to see what you picked. Share a photo in the comments!

📍 204 W 6th St, Newton
🌱 Free. Fresh. Available while supplies last.

07/01/2026

Our first official harvest from the Pop-Up Garden! Come help yourself. Set up outside the United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties office at 204 W 6th St, Newton.

06/17/2026

The Kansas Healthy Food Initiative team is excited to announce the recipients of our third round of Predevelopment Technical Assistance Grants! Congratulations to the following:
⭐ Grass Roots Institute (Atwood)
⭐ Kanbe's Markets (Wichita)
⭐ Sheridan County Community Foundation (Northwest Kansas)
⭐ Stafford County Economic Development, Inc. (Macksville)
⭐ United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties (Hesston)

You can learn more about the grant recipients here: https://kansashealthyfood.org/programdetails/assistance/2026-predevelopment-ta-grant-recipients.html

Our fourth round of this grant program will open in August 2026 with a deadline of September 25, 2026.

This financial assistance is geared toward projects that are still in early concept or predevelopment stages and are not yet ready for full implementation. Project activities include but are not limited to: market or feasibility research, architectural design assistance or site planning, community assessments and engagement, business planning, legal counsel, etc.

06/17/2026

Big things are growing in Halstead! 🌱

Healthy Harvey Coalition is excited to partner with USD 440 through the Pathways to a Healthy Kansas Farm to School Package to expand greenhouse and garden opportunities for students.

This work will help Halstead-Bentley USD 440 School District build on its existing greenhouse program by creating more space for hands-on learning, growing fresh produce, and connecting students to agriculture, STEM, food systems, and healthy eating habits.

From seed starting and plant science to student plant sales, school kitchen use, and future community partnerships, this project is about much more than a greenhouse. It is about helping students understand where food comes from, building practical skills, and increasing access to fresh, healthy foods.

We are grateful for USD 440’s commitment to this work and for the support of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas through Pathways to a Healthy Kansas.

We can’t wait to see what students grow next!