What’s for Dinner? Kansas City Culinary Students Provide the Answer for Local Families.

Kansas City, MO (April 8, 2025) – Culinary students at Manual Career Technical Center, in the Kansas City Public School District, are making mealtime easier for about 125 local families. With support from Pete’s Garden, a local nonprofit, and 15 and the Mahomies Foundation, the students are preparing 500 servings of Lentil Ragu over Pasta for families served by Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City.

Chef Thomas Belisle, culinary instructor at Manual, worked with Pete’s Garden to provide the Kids Feeding Kids service learning opportunity for his students. Pete’s Garden operates the Kids Feeding Kids program in order to provide high school students with a real-world, hands-on experience planning, preparing and packaging family-sized meals, while also learning about food insecurity in their own community.

“When students realize they can cook a meal that feeds a community, something changes,” said Tamara Weber, Founder and Executive Director of Pete’s Garden. “By equipping educators with the tools and resources to lead impactful service projects, we’re building a movement of young leaders who understand the power of food to create change.”

Kids Feeding Kids was launched in 2021 with funding from 15 and the Mahomies Foundation. With the foundation’s continued support, the program has grown from one pilot school to 35 participating schools across Kansas and Missouri for the 2024-25 school year. Kai Jackson, a student at Paseo Academy, participated in Kids Feeding Kids through her Culinary Arts class. “We’re helping kids eat, we are responsible for the things that they eat and I think that that’s nice. It’s fun to be a part of something like that.”

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes have appreciated watching the program expand to reach more students and more families.

“Sitting down as a family to a healthy and wholesome meal is something Brittany and I really value. But too many Kansas City families are struggling to get a wholesome dinner on the table. We are proud to support Kids Feeding Kids and help make mealtime easier for these families while also engaging students in a meaningful community service experience.”

For the 2024-25 school year, over 2,500 students are engaged with Kids Feeding Kids, preparing and distributing over 20,000 meals to families facing food insecurity. Community members can join 15 and the Mahomies Foundation in bringing Kids Feeding Kids to more schools by learning more and donating online at www.kidsfeedingkids.org.

About Pete’s Garden

Pete’s Garden is a Kansas City nonprofit that makes it easier for low-income families to share wholesome meals together at home. Pete’s Garden operates a food recovery program to recover and redirect surplus prepared foods from caterers, restaurants, and food service operations. Volunteers package the food into take-home meals that are distributed free through social service organizations. Pete’s Garden also operates Kids Feeding Kids to provide educators with a standards-based food justice and culinary curriculum focused on increasing food access, reducing food insecurity, and raising awareness of food waste. Educators receive lesson plans along with all the ingredients and supplies they need to help their students prepare up to 1,000 meal servings that are distributed free to low-income families.

About 15 and the Mahomies Foundation

The 15 and the Mahomies Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children through initiatives that focus on health, wellness, and under-resourced communities. Founded by NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, the foundation is committed to helping children reach their fullest potential.