August 19, 2021

By Crystal Futrell

Do you have more kitchen gadgets than you know what to do with?

Are you an empty nester but still have place settings that now hold dust more often than home-cooked meals? Well, we have an opportunity for you!

The Johnson County Extension Master Food Volunteers (EMFV) are starting a project called “Kitchen Re - store” as part of Johnson County Extension’s JoCo E.A.T.S. initiative. It is a community resource and website listing healthy recipes that are easy to make and taste-test-approved. The E.A.T.S. stands for Easy Affordable Tasty Solutions.

For more than a century, Extension has worked under the mission of being a resource to help people improve their lives. It’s the familiar concept that it’s better to teach someone to fish rather than just give them a fish to eat. Well, it’s hard to fish if you don’t have a fishing pole. And, that’s what the JoCo E.A.T.S. Kitchen Restore Project is all about.

We are asking for donations of gently used (or new) kitchen tools and dinnerware. Our EMFVs will sort, clean, and organize the items into kits that will be donated to community organizations that can identify individuals and families who need them.

The kits will include items for measuring, cutting, mixing, cooking and eating. An estimated value for each kit is between $100 and $120. Extension will also accept tax-deductible financial donations of any amount (checks made payable to Johnson County Extension Education Foundation) to purchase items needed to supplement the kits.

Please bring your donations to our Johnson County Extension Office, 11811 S. Sunset Drive, Olathe. We will accept any kitchen item but mostly need: dinner plates, cups, knives, spoons, forks, serrated knives, plastic cutting boards, skillets, large mixing spoons, rubber spatulas, measuring spoons, dry measuring cups, liquid measuring cups, sheet trays, vegetable peelers, mixing bowls, fine mesh sieves, saucepans, can openers, flipping spatulas, meat thermometers and pot holders.

If you have questions about our JoCo E.A.T.S. Kitchen Restore Project, or if you are a community organization and would like to partner with Extension to facilitate this project, please contact me by email at Crystal.Futrell@jocogov.org or call 913-715-7000.

Crystal Futrell is the health and food safety agent at the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Office.