{"id":12493,"date":"2026-01-07T16:33:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T21:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bluekc.com\/blueprint\/?p=12493"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:42:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T21:42:26","slug":"helping-hands-blue-kc-families-begin-building-delasalle-learning-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluekc.com\/blueprint\/community-and-culture\/helping-hands-blue-kc-families-begin-building-delasalle-learning-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Hands: Blue KC Families Begin Building DeLaSalle Learning Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shovels began digging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soil started moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And about a dozen raised garden beds made from cedar found their destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days before New Year\u2019s Day 2026, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) employees helped begin transforming an acre of land<\/a> into a learning farm at DeLaSalle Education Center near 37th and Troost in Kansas City, Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s great,\u201d said Blue KC Operations Application Specialist Dolores Castro. \u201cIt\u2019s important for people to be outside. This learning farm is going to bring people closer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to a partnership<\/a> between Blue KC, behavioral and mental health nonprofit Cornerstones of Care and its vocational program Build Trybe, the learning farm will also aim to help reduce food insecurity, which is something Dolores faced as a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI grew up on the Westside of Kansas City, MO, and we were a family on food stamps,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dolores, who has worked at Blue KC for more than 20 years, brought her daughter with her to volunteer at the DeLaSalle Learning Farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for my daughter to know how blessed she is now and how much volunteerism can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s fun to do something for our community and build something that we know will last,\u201d said Blue KC Community Relations and Investment Director Macaela Stephenson, who volunteered with her eight-year-old daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also a family affair at the learning farm for Blue KC Business Process Consultant Chris Chartrand, who volunteered with his teenage daughter after loading up the raised garden beds on his truck and trailer earlier in the day at the Build Trybe Shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBlue KC did us a big favor bringing Chris into this project,\u201d Build Trybe Director Theo Bunch said. \u201cChris is worth 10 of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Chris, who returned with his wife on New Year\u2019s Day to finish installing the raised garden beds while using his tractor, is bringing his farming knowledge<\/a> to the project. The former member of the Kansas Army National Guard lives on a 40-acre farm in the Sunflower State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spent 21 years in the military and was always deployed to a desert,\u201d said Chris. \u201cWhen I got home, I wanted to experience life on a farm. We built everything from scratch, including growing our own fruit and veggies knowing it can feed an entire family. I think it\u2019s important to teach the DeLaSalle students where food comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cChris makes it entertaining to learn!\u201d said DeLaSalle High School student Ji\u2019Ziah Anderson. \u201cHe taught me how to use a circular saw and be confident.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe kids are eager to learn!\u201d said Chris. \u201cThey are learning skills that they can use for anything in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blue KC Chief Technology Officer Amber Mustard rolled up her sleeves to help the students on the DeLaSalle Learning Farm, including piling up a layer of straw on top of the soil in the garden beds, which will be used to grow healthy food in the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cYou get to see things from other perspectives, and lead by example,\u201d said Amber. \u201cKids need good role models. I\u2019ve known people who have lived with hunger. If there\u2019s anything I can do to help with better health outcomes, I want to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans for the multi-year learning farm project include the building of an orchard, duck pond, rabbit hutch, chicken coup and outdoor eatery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing able to give back to our neighbors is one of the nicest things we can do,\u201d said Ji\u2019Ziah. \u201cIt makes for positive outcomes and your day brighter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese kids might receive a carton of eggs down the road from this farm,\u201d said Chris. \u201cEverything we\u2019re doing is for the betterment of our community. I see endless possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know the orchard at the Tony Aguirre Community Center, which is located where I grew up on the Westside of Kansas City, MO, has produced tons of apples, so this farm can have that same effect,\u201d said Dolores. \u201cConsidering rising food costs, it\u2019s a joy knowing this farm will be shared with the surrounding neighborhood. I think it\u2019s going to be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n\r\n\t\t\t

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