The Kansas Health Foundation has announced grants totaling more than $18 million in support of efforts to address food insecurity and advance data, equity, and engagement initiatives across the state.

The foundation awarded a total of $250,000 to address food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, including $127,500 to the Kansas Food Bank, $112,500 to Harvesters Community Food Network, and $10,000 to Second Harvest Community Food Bank. The grants are in addition to the $2.9 million in grants KHF awarded in 2020 to address food insecurity in the state and increase access to benefits for food-insecure Kansans.

The remaining $17.8 million includes $1.1 million in support of the foundation's Kansas Digital Equity and Inclusion Commitment, an initiative aimed at supporting multi-sector collaboratives working to create and implement digital equity and inclusion plans and promote greater digital access, adoption, and literacy among families of color, low-wage households, and other Kansans experiencing systemic barriers to economic opportunity; $13.5 million over five years to the Kansas Health Institute, which conducts research on the health and health-related policies affecting Kansans and educates policy makers on the issues; more than $3 million to the Kansas Integrated Voter Engagement initiative in support of the second phase of its Civic Engagement to Advance Health Equity and Evaluation initiative; and $200,000 over three years to FORESIGHT, a national collaborative effort working to envision and create equitable health and well-being strategies and create opportunities that improve health outcomes.