Community Highlights: Meet Max Kaniger of Kanbe’s Markets

Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Kaniger.

Hi Max, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I am a Kansas City native, born and raised in Brookside.

Like many families, food in our house was not just about mealtime. Food is the basis for many of our family traditions, it is an ingredient when we celebrate and comfort when we grieve. As a talented chef, my father has always used food as a tool to bring people together. I was in college when I discovered many of my peers had a very different relationship with food growing up.

I realized I had taken my access to fresh, healthy food completely for granted. I discovered the number of people in Kansas City with “food insecurity” and those living in “food deserts” is staggering. What feels like a third-world problem is happening in our city, not far from where I grew up.

This is when the idea for Kanbe’s Markets was developed. For the past few years, building Kanbe’s Markets has been my primary focus. It has been exciting, stressful, and so much fun watching this dream come to life

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I’m not sure I believe there’s ever a “smooth road” to anything worth doing. We have been incredibly fortunate as Kanbe’s has grown in Kansas City, but that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been struggles along the way. We have constantly been greeted by moral support and care for our work.

However, transitioning that support into donations is tricky, and we have, at times, been the victims of our own success and the growth of the organization has outpaced the donations we bring in. Yet, time and time again when we have felt a little ahead of our skis or worried about what is on the horizon, the people of KC have been there for us.

At the end of the day the model we are using as an organization is unique. And while that offers some incredible opportunities for the future, building that vision now comes with challenges.

We’ve been impressed with Kanbe’s Markets, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Kanbe’s Markets exists to fix a fixable problem. Too many of our neighbors live in what is described by the USDA as “Food Deserts” or areas without consistent access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food.

Kanbe’s is a nonprofit working to build an equitable food system in Kansas City. We do that by partnering with the small corner/convenience stores that have existed in these communities for years. We provide these stores with refrigerated kiosks, and basket shelving to display fresh produce and we stock those shelves seven days a week all on consignment so there is no upfront cost to the store owners.

We manage the pricing and pull any food that starts to go bad to try and make things as easy as possible for the community to have access to healthy food. To date, we are the only organization that operates this model in the country. You can find a full list of our locations on our website, and we are currently delivering to 43 partner stores.

None of this work would be possible without the support of people in Kansas City, and while we have big plans for the future, we will need your help to get there.

What matters most to you? Why?
Ultimately my family, my friends, and this city matter most to me because there would not be Kanbe’s Markets without their continued support. Second, to that, building an equitable food system is what I care about. Creating a solution that provides access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food for everyone is something that we can and should do.

Pricing:

• SPROUT – Your $10 monthly donation can provide 10 people with access to fresh and affordable produce within walking distance of their homes.
• STEM – Your $20 monthly donation can provide 20 people with access to fresh and affordable produce within walking distance of their homes.
• FLOWER – Your $40 monthly donation can provide 40 people with access to fresh and affordable produce within walking distance of their homes.
• FRUIT – Your $100 monthly donation can provide 100 people with access to fresh and affordable produce within walking distance of their homes.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.kanbesmarkets.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kanbesmarkets/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kanbesmarkets/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/KanbesMarkets
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/23kWVQcb7JA