By Ned Seaton
The organizers of a day-long meeting about poverty in Riley County are figuring out next steps, energized by what they say is interest they witnessed in tackling what has become a persistent problem here.
Just under 100 community leaders from a variety of fields met Friday at an event put on by the Flint Hills Breadbasket, Habitat for Humanity and the Flint Hills Wellness Coalition. Organizers Karla Hagemeister, Deb Nuss and Josh Brewer named it “Functional Zero Poverty in Riley County by 2035,” though there’s not actually a formal organization. The sponsoring entities together obtained a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to buy lunch and books, and to pay facilitators to have a deep dive.
