{"id":13320,"date":"2026-04-23T13:47:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bluekc.com\/blueprint\/?p=13320"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:47:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T18:47:17","slug":"spring-into-action-blue-kc-volunteers-plant-orchard-at-delasalle-learning-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluekc.com\/blueprint\/community-and-culture\/spring-into-action-blue-kc-volunteers-plant-orchard-at-delasalle-learning-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring into action: Blue KC volunteers plant orchard at DeLaSalle Learning Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Can you imagine if a high school in the urban core of Kansas City, Mo. had free access to fruits and vegetables in their own backyard? That dream started growing into reality, as 92 high school students and 43 volunteers from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) planted an orchard at DeLaSalle Education Center<\/a> on 37th and Troost, as part of the school\u2019s Learning Farm initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s kind of like that exciting feeling in your chest because it’s like, wow!\u201d said Ji\u2019Ziah Anderson, junior at DeLaSalle Education Center. \u201cIt used to be so dry in this field, and there wasn\u2019t anything we could do. Now, there are plants and trees. We\u2019re growing fruit. That\u2019s a big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s very heartwarming,\u201d said Rebecca Anderson, Director of Community Health at Blue KC. \u201cWe\u2019re working alongside the students, and the students are teaching us. That’s the cool thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local team effort to build learning farm<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Blue KC, behavioral and mental health nonprofit Cornerstones of Care<\/a>, its vocational program Build Trybe<\/a>, The Giving Grove<\/a> and Kansas City Community Gardens<\/a> are teaming up to help DeLaSalle\u2019s long-term vision of becoming one of the leading urban farming schools in Kansas City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are all about empowering community to grow their own food, and there is nothing better than getting to empower a group of high school kids who have a vision to bring food to their neighborhood,\u201d said Jennifer Meyer, Executive Director at Kansas City Community Gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeLaSalle Education Center came to Build Trybe and Cornerstones of Care, and they said, \u2018Hey, we want an urban farm,\u2019 but there was no funding or support,\u201d said Theo Bunch, Director of Build Trybe. \u201cWith Blue KC coming to the table, suddenly that desire became a very real potential, and now that potential has turned to trees in the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Blue KC, the only locally based nonprofit health insurer that’s been in this community for almost 90 years, our support for community health is greater than it’s ever been, especially around projects like this,\u201d said Rebecca Anderson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s growing on the farm<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The orchard planting included a total of 20 trees representing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n