Kanbe’s Markets provides free produce to support local animal organizations

Farm to Able Chicken standing on donated produce. // Photo provided by Sheriee Rusk.

Kanbe’s Markets serves the Kansas City area by redistributing discarded produce to groups in need—including the local animal community.

This organization directly benefits people in low food-access areas by delivering fresh food to areas of need for free, reducing unnecessary waste through a more inclusive food system. 

With a tier system, Kanbe’s volunteers sort produce into four groups based on the food’s condition to determine where each piece will be donated. While tiers 1 and 2 are for human consumption and tier 4 is composted, tier 3 is for the animal community.

Kanbe’s program coordinator Raymond Forstater says some of the produce they receive is edible but has been out for a while or in damaged boxes, leaving mushy, split open, or rubbery produce humans wouldn’t enjoy.

“We end up with a good amount of stuff that is in this in-between space, it’s not good enough quality that we want to send it out to people in the community; it’s not necessarily dignified for them to take, but at the same time it’s not moldy or rotten,” Forstater says. 

Forstater says Kanbe’s sorts out about 15,000 pounds of food a month for animal food sent to animal sanctuary and rescue farm partners. One of these partners is Farm to Able Animal Sanctuary, which rescues and rehabilitates animals.

Chickens eating donated produce at Farm to Able. // Photo provided by Sheriee Rusk.

Most of these animal partners are non-profits, where food costs come out of pocket. Co-founder and president of Farm to Able, Sheriee Rusk, says their organization is entirely volunteer-run and mostly self-funded. 

“We have about half our annual expenses covered by monthly sponsorships, then the other half is still self-funded,” Rusk says. “On the days we do get to feed produce, it cuts our feed bill down by half.”

Not only does this produce cut costs for animal welfare partners, but it also supports the animals’ nutritional needs by adding a variety of different foods to their diet. 

“It supplies them with a little extra nutrient that they don’t really get from the feed, so it’s very awesome,” Rusk says. 

Rusk will go pick up the produce herself to bring back to the farm, then ration out the different fruits and veggies. Farm to Able supports mostly farm animals, but also typical domestic pets, and each one of the animals has specific dietary needs. 

“The cows love the produce, but they can only have certain things, they can’t have such a wide variety as the pigs, the chickens also enjoy the produce, but again, they’re kind of selective,” Rusk says. “All of the animals here eat it, even the horses, and the donkeys sometimes eat some of the lettuce and the greens.”

Pig at Farm to Able eating donated produce. // Photo provided by Sheriee Rusk.

The largest animal population at Farm to Able is pigs—which Rusk says primarily benefit from the produce. While pigs are the heftiest proportion of produce eaters at the farm, every animal in residence enjoys and benefits from the donated food. 

“It’s worth it in the joy that they get. When I don’t get produce for a while, I can totally tell that they are excited,” Rusk says. “I joke and say the dogs could be vegan. When I feed produce, they run out and eat the produce you wouldn’t think of, devouring cucumbers and squash, the tomatoes, they’ll eat all of it.” 

Kanbe’s supports many other animal rescues and sanctuaries around Kansas City, including Porter’s Farm and Science City Nature Works. 

You can help out Kanbe’s through sponsorship, donations, or volunteering through their website.