Harvesters is the regional food bank for the Greater Kansas City metro, covering a 27-county service area that spans both sides of the state line: northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas. It reaches more than 226,000 people a month through a network of 760-plus partner agencies. The organization has named Debbie Espinosa as its new President and CEO, joining from FIND Regional Food Bank in California and stepping into the role in late 2026, succeeding Stephen Davis, who left to lead Food Lifeline in Seattle. Harvesters has fought hunger in the region for more than 45 years.
Harvesters sources food at scale and distributes it across a 27-county area on both sides of the Kansas-Missouri line, reaching more than 226,000 people a month through 760-plus partner agencies. As the food bank for a metro that straddles a state border, it coordinates services across two states’ systems, and it runs programs aimed at children, seniors, and nutrition alongside its core distribution.
Harvesters is in a leadership transition. After Stephen Davis, who led the organization since 2022, left in 2025 to become CEO of Food Lifeline in Seattle, the board named Debbie Espinosa as its new President and CEO. Espinosa joins from FIND Regional Food Bank in California’s Greater Palm Springs region, where she had been CEO since 2018, and she becomes the sixth person to lead Harvesters when she starts in late 2026. She has a long history with the organization, having interned there earlier in her career.
The 27-county service area covers the Greater Kansas City metro and a wide surrounding region in northwestern Missouri and northeastern Kansas. The bi-state footprint means Harvesters deals with two different state safety nets and a mix of dense urban need in Kansas City and rural need in the outlying counties.
Yes. Harvesters is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member with a 45-year operating record. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through harvesters.org. Volunteers sort and pack food and help at distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
Harvesters covers the Kansas City region on the western side of Missouri and across into Kansas, while the St. Louis Area Foodbank and Operation Food Search cover the St. Louis metro on the eastern side. For anyone in the Kansas City area, Harvesters is the lead organization.
760+ agencies across 27 bi-state counties.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Food assistance for older adults on fixed incomes.
Healthy food brought into underserved communities.
Sources: Harvesters website (harvesters.org), GuideStar and ProPublica (EIN 43-1208665), and 2026 KC Chamber, KSHB, and FIND Regional Food Bank reporting on the appointment of Debbie Espinosa. We are not affiliated with Harvesters, The Community Food Network and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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