Clint Patty:
Well, hello there. Welcome to Investing in Good, a podcast that shines a spotlight on those making a profound impact within Northeast Kansas. This podcast is proudly presented by Clayton Wealth Partners, your partner in philanthropic financial planning for individual donors, and investment management for endowments, foundations, and nonprofit organizations.
In each episode, we’re going to sit down with the remarkable leaders and dedicated workers of nonprofits across the state of Kansas. We’re going to listen to their stories, learn about their causes, and talk about the challenges they have in making the lives of Kansans better each and every day. Stay tuned now, as we delve into our next inspiring story on Investing in Good.
Welcome back to Investing in Good. I’m Clint Patty, the managing partner at Clayton Wealth Partners. And have another great guest for everyone this month. Our guest is Aundrea Walker, the executive director of Just Food of Douglas County.
Aundrea, welcome.
Aundrea Walker:
Thank you so much for having me.
Clint Patty:
Well, I’m glad you could be here today. It’s hard to imagine anybody in Lawrence or Douglas County not knowing who Just Food is. But we go out to a wider audience than that. For people who might not know about Just Food, talk about what is Just Food, and what is its mission?
Aundrea Walker:
Just Food is the food, diaper, and basic need bank of Douglas County. Our mission at Just Food is to end hunger in Douglas County. Part of the values within that are increasing self-sufficiency, providing access to healthy, nutritious food. That’s the core of what we do. We support those through a myriad of different programs that we offer at Just Food as well.
Clint Patty:
Talk just a little bit about some of those programs that you have in place.
Aundrea Walker:
One of those that comes off the top of my head is our Cruising Cupboard. That’s our mobile food pantry. We work with GIS mapping, which tells you where the high density population with the greatest need is. We try to use that information to then decide where the Cruising Cupboard goes. We also go to each of the rural areas within Douglas County, so Lecompton, Eudora, and Baldwin. We also found the gap through the pandemic of the delivery system, so we offer deliveries on Mondays as well. Then diapers, we partner with a diaper bank out of Kansas City called Happy Bottoms, and are able to supply families 75 diapers a month per child. If you have multiple children in diapers, each child will receive 75.
Clint Patty:
Let’s talk a little bit about the diaper service that you provide and the need for it here in Douglas County. Food, I think, pots and pans, those kind of things, we get. I’m not sure I was aware of how much you all do in terms of providing diapers to the community. What do those numbers look like on a monthly basis?
Aundrea Walker:
We supply upwards of 400 families with diapers, or 400 individual children in diapers. We can sometimes have households that have multiple children in diapers.
Clint Patty:
Sure.
Aundrea Walker:
The parameters for that is children under the age of four. If they’re over the age of four, they can do a potty-training program, but they don’t receive the 75 diapers a month. Previously to this partnership with Happy Bottoms, we were able to package individually, on our own at Just Food, 25 diapers and that was what individuals were able to get from us. But with this partnership with Happy Bottoms, they’re an amazing organization. They order millions of diapers every single year. We were able to increase the amount of diapers we’re receiving while also cutting the cost of having to purchase diapers on our own.
Clint Patty:
How long has Just Food been around?
Aundrea Walker:
This year was our 15-year anniversary, so 15 years. We started off under the wing of EKAN. Then 15 years ago, Just Food became its own entity.
Clint Patty:
We always like to learn a little bit about our guests. We’ll talk about you because you have been with Just Food for more than half of its existence, right?
Aundrea Walker:
Correct. I’ve been there nine years. Nine years the last week of June.
Clint Patty:
And before that?
Aundrea Walker:
Where was I before-
Clint Patty:
Yeah.
Aundrea Walker:
Just Food? I was at Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department at the time, working on creating access to healthy food in public spaces. I did that for two-and-a-half years.
Clint Patty:
Just Food probably seems like a natural progression in what you were doing there, to move on here?
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah. I actually started off as a volunteer. I was volunteering teaching cooking classes before being staffed at Just Food.
Clint Patty:
We’re going to talk about the importance of volunteers later, because I understand that is a big part of Just Food.
Aundrea Walker:
A very large part of what we do. We’re definitely volunteer-led. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do at the capacity we do without volunteers.
Clint Patty:
I have to be honest and plead a little bit of ignorance here. Before probably the last decade, I was not familiar with the term food insecurity. I’m not sure I had a full even appreciation. I have a good friend on Topeka that has been an advocate for people for more than a decade now, and he introduced me to the term and the problem.
Can you talk a little bit about the problem of food insecurity on a national level? And then, the local level.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah. Food insecurity, it’s an issue here in Douglas County, but it’s a large issue nationwide. Anywhere you look, there’s definitely individuals who are food insecure. What that means is are people having to decide if they’re going to eat a meal or be able to pay for something else instead. Is that a medical bill, a vet bill, school? It’s starting now, you have the added cost of buying school supplies, and school fees, and school activity fees, and things like that.
Food insecurity is really looking at not being able to have the funding to be able to purchase food, but looking at what other realm am I going to have spend money on it. Do I have to decide if a meal is the priority?
Clint Patty:
I don’t think people even, in a large part, have an appreciation for the widespread problem that exists. According to the research that you all have done, maybe as many as 19, 20,000 people in this county alone may be suffering from food insecurity at one time or another. That’s 10%.
Aundrea Walker:
Correct.
Clint Patty:
That’s a much bigger number than I think most people would have anticipated or even know about. Obviously, the need’s there.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah, for sure. Hunger comes from so many different elements. It’s multifaceted. A big issue here in Lawrence too, or Douglas County even, is housing crisis. I heard in a meeting a month or two ago that Douglas County has less than 4% vacancy here in town. When you look at that, what are people doing if they don’t have housing?
Clint Patty:
Right.
Aundrea Walker:
They’re having to decide between paying their rent or purchasing food, and things like that.
Clint Patty:
Two of the three basic needs in life, shelter and housing.
Aundrea Walker:
Correct.
Clint Patty:
If you struggle with both, that struggle becomes very real.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
And can lead to all kinds of other … There’s a lot of headline stories about inflation. Obviously, prices on goods and services that we were paying for a couple of years ago are considerably higher. Have you seen that filter through and increase the numbers of folks that are facing food insecurity now?
Aundrea Walker:
Oh, definitely. The inflation you see when you go to the grocery store, we’re also seeing as a large purchaser of food as well. Previously to me being executive director, I was in charge of all food purchasing for Just Food. Previously to the pandemic, we would only spend maybe $9000 a year on food. Right now, we spend over $40,000 a month on food every single month.
Clint Patty:
Hang on. I don’t want that to go by without. $40,000 a month is being purchased for food by Just Food?
Aundrea Walker:
Correct. Yeah.
Clint Patty:
That’s a big number.
Aundrea Walker:
It’s a huge number. That right there says so much. I analyzed everything by price-per-pound. When I took over food purchasing, on average I was averaging about $1.31 per pound. Now that’s inflated by 30 to 40 percent, depending on the week and the day. Then also, part of that inflation comes into you have companies that have taken products and decreased the amount that goes into that product while increasing the price. You’re not only seeing an inflation on price, but you’re seeing a decrease in the amount that’s provided in that packaging.
Clint Patty:
Yeah, I’ve noticed the serving sizes are going down on the number of items.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
That’s probably a little tricky way to maintain profit, I would assume.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah. If you pick up a bag of chips, I feel like that’s the telltale sign, for sure.
Clint Patty:
Yeah. Then open the bag of chips and say, “Wow, how did only eight chips get in the bag?”
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
My friend and business partner, Jim Walden, who you know, speaks on this frequently. The problem with inflation is that we talk about it being sticky. Economists think of it in short terms. “Oh, well, it’s coming down.” Right now, there’s now doubt, the fact is that inflation is coming down. But it’s coming down from a place that it already rose to and you don’t get that back.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
It’s not like prices every return. If they level off, they level off then at a place higher than they had ever been before.
How do you all address that challenge from a cost standpoint on your end? I’m assuming there’s some haggling and negotiating going on. How are you able to do that, and then reduce that impact on those that you serve?
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah. There’s definitely a negotiation and haggling that goes in with the purchase element that we do at Just Food. But we also do a lot of food recovery here in Douglas County. We also do some recovery in Kansas City as well now. We’re putting our best foot forward, working with anywhere from catering companies now that we have a commercial kitchen, to larger stores and things. We just garnered a larger corporation. Starbucks is a company that we’ve worked, but they just changed their corporate model. Right now, we’re driving to Kansas City and picking up from a packing facility. It’s really a transport facility. And able to have ready-to-eat meals provided at a larger capacity than what we were a month ago.
Clint Patty:
Walk through that scenario on food recovery. I’m a business, a restaurant, a large company like Starbucks. I’m assuming they must have lots of excess that they would normally, what, throw out or get rid of?
Aundrea Walker:
Correct. That’s another fascinating thing that’s come out of the pandemic too, is food waste was huge. It was a public health priority. A lot of involvement nationwide, as well as community driven, around reducing food waste. Which was wonderful for us, because we can help reduce food waste, but also make sure that that food isn’t going in the trash.
Corporations across the nation started really honing in on that as well, and have reduced the amount they’re purchasing. Which in the tail end, has caused us to have less donated to us because they’re not over-purchasing anymore.
Clint Patty:
Right. That was the waste you were counting on to come back.
Aundrea Walker:
Yes.
Clint Patty:
Yeah, right.
Aundrea Walker:
That’s the one downside of food waste becoming a national headline thing. Food waste, food waste, food waste I felt like was such a huge priority, that people wanted to reduce food waste. Then corporations got involved with that too, which is amazing. But then in the tail end, what is that variable effect that it’s caused? The effect is that it’s reduced the amount of food that we receive as well.
Clint Patty:
Wow. You’ve talked about the problems of inflation and the problems of food waste, and how we’re shifting our corporate norms. What are some of the other challenges that Just Food faces, and how are you meeting them?
Aundrea Walker:
We are seeing the highest amount of people on a regular basis right now. We’re an emergency or supplemental agency. Individuals use us in an emergent situation or as a supplement. We’re seeing more people having a greater need on a more regular basis now than before. We are adding 3 to 400 new households every single month. We’re seeing thousands of people come in and shop in our food pantry every single week.
Clint Patty:
I’m assuming adding 3 to 400 new households, that’s adding two to three people or more?
Aundrea Walker:
Correct, yeah. We have some households of one. The way we have a choice pantry, it goes up to households of five. Even if you have more than five people in your household, that’s the cap for us for a supplemental service. That way, we try to make our services as equitable as possible, so everyone can receive something for every household.
Clint Patty:
I’ve been in your building over there. This is not a huge building to start with. How are you dealing with capacity issues there?
Aundrea Walker:
It’s a beast, definitely. I don’t know how else to say it. Tuesdays are our busiest day. Anybody that knows Just Food or drives around the 11th and Haskell corridor definitely sees the line out the door. Every single Tuesday, it lasts basically all day long. Now we’re starting to see that line staying Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as well.
We are closed to the public on Monday. We don’t have our pantry in place, but we do have deliveries. We also offer deliveries throughout Douglas County. That includes Lecompton, Eudora, and Baldwin. There’s around 60 to 85 recipients that receive deliveries on Mondays, as well as partner pantries come in and shop on Mondays as well. We have about 30-plus partners that we work with.
Clint Patty:
Yeah. The delivery aspects have to have helped a lot. In a lot of the research that I did for this podcast, it’s interesting that disproportionately, this problem falls disproportionately on Black and Hispanic families. It falls on single-parent households disproportionately. And rural areas, which surprised me a little bit. But it’s good that you’ve got those delivery systems in place to help with the rural areas around Douglas County.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah, for sure. Baldwin is one of our higher delivery areas, and a majority of those individuals receiving deliveries in Baldwin are seniors or elders. That’s definitely a great need that we see. You look at why are deliveries needed? There’s transportation barriers. Deliveries actually came out of the pandemic, due to COVID. You’re not allowed to leave home, you’re supposed to be quarantining. Well, how are you supposed to feed yourself? If you can’t afford to have groceries delivered, which cost even more money, what are you supposed to do? That’s how Just Food came up with the delivery model, was through the pandemic.
Clint Patty:
I’m assuming the pandemic had to have upended everything in your business?
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah. One fortunate thing that came out of the pandemic is we received federal funding. We were able to expand our pantry. Our pantry was probably a quarter of the size of what it is now. Still, now that we’re at such an insane capacity, there definitely is space. But if you were in our pantry, think about it a quarter size that it is, or it was pre-pandemic. When you had the quarantine or the six-feet barriers in place, we actually went to a curbside distribution model. That was a wild, wild time.
Clint Patty:
I’ll bet it was. That’s a little bit like the Wild West with everybody gathering out there.
Aundrea Walker:
The Wild West.
Clint Patty:
You had to do it. How else are you going to get food to folks?
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah. That’s one thing Just Food, we didn’t shut down during the pandemic at all. We remained serving our community as best we could. We did, when we had construction, have to shut down for a week, but we had supplemental food shipped to other pantries in town to make sure that people were still being fed.
Clint Patty:
You may have already talked about this. But given that there are transportation barriers, knowing that there are communities that this problem falls on disproportionately, how do you all make sure that there’s equitable access to food services?
Aundrea Walker:
Well, one way is we work with a myriad of different partners within not just Lawrence, but Douglas County. We have school pantries that we work with. One of our satellite pantries is Heartland Community Health Center. They have the care covered in the back, so that’s another access point. Just trying to increase the amount of access points that are available. Salvation Army is another larger pantry as well. Just trying to look at the gaps, and what are barriers, and how do we get past those barriers and decrease those gaps as much as we can.
Clint Patty:
And I assume reach out with those partnerships where you can, to be able to help fill those gaps.
Aundrea Walker:
Definitely. Community collaboration is key to the work we do.
Clint Patty:
How does Just Food measure its success in the community? I have to assume that’s a hard thing because you’re continually … It’s not like the customer base is going down, it’s going up. In any other business, that would be your measure of success.
Aundrea Walker:
Right.
Clint Patty:
But that’s got to be the opposite, right?
Aundrea Walker:
We track how many people we serve. We recently just did GIS mapping, which is looking at where is there high density population with great need. Where are those key areas at? That’s how we decide where our mobile food pantry, the Cruising Cupboard goes. Those are ways that we try to measure are we reaching the most vulnerable population. And are those individuals being served?
We also do annual surveys. We have a community advisory board, and shopper advisory board. Working within the community, talking to the population you’re serving is definitely key. Like I just said a minute ago, community collaboration is definitely key. Making sure that you have multiple access points creates better quality.
Clint Patty:
Talk about the role volunteers play. We touched on it a little bit in the beginning. But talk about how important that is. And for people in this community that would be interested in being volunteers, talk about how they get a hold of you to do that.
Aundrea Walker:
When I started at Just Food nine years ago, we were a teeny-tiny staff of four. Now we are a staff of 12 full-time and two part-time. We have grown immensely in the nine years that I’ve been with Just Food. But we would not be able to do what we do without the volunteers that we use every single day. Those volunteers are from check in and check out. We have our pantry set up like a grocery store, so you check in with someone and you check out with someone. We also have warehouse individuals, as well as pantry stockers. Like a grocery store stocker, same thing.
Clint Patty:
Sure.
Aundrea Walker:
Delivery drivers. We also have a commercial kitchen called Chop Shop, so we have individuals that work in that kitchen Monday through Wednesdays as well. The capacity and the availability of volunteers is just wild.
We’re able to do what we do and the myriad of things we do because the community really cares about food insecurity and being able to help. I’d say on a slow day, we have maybe 20 volunteers. On a day where we have an event, and we’re still running the pantry and all the services we have, it’s probably more like 60.
Clint Patty:
That’s amazing. For folks that might hear this and would be interested in volunteering, what’s the best way to get a hold of you?
Aundrea Walker:
Our volunteer manager is Jessica Moyer. You can email volunteer@justfoodks.org. Or go to our website, and there is a tab at the top that shows you how to sign up for a volunteer orientation.
Clint Patty:
Perfect. That’s the call to the community. Get on that website and volunteer. It sounds like you could surely use it, given the number of folks that are coming through right now.
Aundrea Walker:
Definitely.
Clint Patty:
Are there some common misconceptions that people might have about folks that encounter food insecurity?
Aundrea Walker:
I think there’s a lot of misconceptions that it’s people you don’t know, or people that maybe aren’t your neighbors, or your relatives, or your classmates if you have children in school. I think that’s a common misconception, is that the people going to the pantry are people that you don’t know. Often, we see in our pantry, or even within our cooking classes and other programs that we have at Just Food, is you see people that know other people within the pantry. They’re like, “Oh, I didn’t know you were struggling like this.”
Clint Patty:
Right.
Aundrea Walker:
So often, I’ll see it weekly in the pantry where people are like, “Oh, I didn’t realize that you were struggling, too.” Which also creates a place of compassion for your neighbors, and things like that. Or you have volunteers that see their neighbor shopping.
Clint Patty:
Right.
Aundrea Walker:
Or utilizing services.
Clint Patty:
Well, just the numbers alone. If it is one in 10, let’s assume that number is correct. It may be more. But you can imagine walking down the street in your neighborhood and thinking, “Every 10th person I walk by is struggling.”
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
Is the struggle generally a longterm struggle? In other words, is it one that people will fight most of their life, or does it come in fits and starts?
Aundrea Walker:
I feel like it comes in fits and starts. We definitely have individuals who may be on disability, or are going through a longterm cancer treatment, that utilize our services more longterm. But the vast majority of people, it’s in fits and starts. Your AC unit goes out. It’s summer right now, that’s pretty common. You can either go without air conditioning or come to Just Food and receive food. People are probably going to come and get supplemental services for a little bit.
Clint Patty:
I would have to guess, with the cost of medical care and prescription drugs, that has to be a trade off that people look at a lot?
Aundrea Walker:
Oh, for sure. We have a large majority of individuals that have hypertension, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. Those are things that we ask in our annual survey, and a lot of individuals are struggling with that. Like you said, prescription costs also have skyrocketed-
Clint Patty:
Yes, they have.
Aundrea Walker:
Off the pandemic as well. You’re not receiving the medical care at an affordable rate like you used to. Because even if you are going into a healthcare facility with a sliding scale, the prescriptions probably are still at an inflated price.
Clint Patty:
For sure. Let’s talk a little bit about the future of Just Food. What plans or goals do you see for Just Food coming both in the short term, and maybe also the longterm, maybe five, 10 years down the road?
Aundrea Walker:
The pandemic has changed a lot for Just Food. One of the things that we’re currently bringing back is cooking classes. Through the pandemic, obviously you can’t have communal cooking classes. That created a community space, while also teaching people how to cook affordable meals that are nutrient dense, as well as affordable like I just said.
Clint Patty:
Sure. Yeah.
Aundrea Walker:
But that’s one of the short term things. It’s the most asked about question, “When are cooking classes coming back?” We’re actually having our first one tonight for the first time since the pandemic, basically.
Clint Patty:
Wow.
Aundrea Walker:
We’ve done things like create meal kits, which are supplemental cooking classes. It’s all in a box, like Home Chef or Blue Apron things. We’ve created things like that.
Cooking classes were one of the gaps. Part of our mission is increasing self-sufficiency. Being able to bring those programs back that increase self-sufficiency was one of the gaps that we’ve had since the pandemic. That’s the short term goal is to hone in on that piece of our mission that we’ve been missing out on.
Clint Patty:
These cooking classes, if folks are interested in taking them. Again, the website, the best place to go?
Aundrea Walker:
The website is the best place to go. Right now, our one this evening is at full capacity, which I’m not surprised. People love our cooking classes.
Clint Patty:
How many is full capacity?
Aundrea Walker:
12.
Clint Patty:
12 for a cooking class?
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
Okay.
Aundrea Walker:
We have a kitchen onsite with two ranges, and enough to do 12 individuals.
Clint Patty:
Who teaches these classes? Are these volunteers or the staff?
Aundrea Walker:
It’s staff and volunteers. The first one today is our newest community access manager. Her name is Danielle. She will be leading the one this evening.
Clint Patty:
Again, another volunteer opportunity-
Aundrea Walker:
Definitely.
Clint Patty:
For folks that like to cook and can pass that along.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah. We also are having a cooking class starting this fall at Lawrence Public Library. We used to do 16 classes every single month. Some of them were at Just Food, but also working with our community members and our community partners, meeting people where they’re at. There will definitely be more cooking classes throughout the community with Just Food as well.
Clint Patty:
That sounds great. Again, the idea of creating self-sufficiency. Ultimately, if you’re going to break that cycle, that’s part of it, isn’t it?
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
What upcoming events do you have? Do you have anything? You’ve got the cooking classes. But anything els coming up at Just Food you’d like to talk about?
Aundrea Walker:
We have a benefit dinner coming up. Tickets will be released, I believe on Tuesday. Last year, last July actually, Ali Curbow came on at Just Food. She is our director of development and is the first time Just Food has had a development department, or a sole individual honed in on development.
Clint Patty:
Or one that didn’t operate out of the executive director’s office?
Aundrea Walker:
Correct. Exactly.
Clint Patty:
I saw your look and I thought, “I know what that’s like.”
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not under the realm of just executive director.
Clint Patty:
Right.
Aundrea Walker:
Ali is amazing and has come up with all these amazing events. The next one that will be coming up that tickets are releasing for is the Fond Dinner Series. We work with our amazing restaurant partners here in town, as well as within Douglas County. The next one will be with Cody and Simon Bates, who own a myriad of restaurants. This one is going to be Bon Bon!.
Clint Patty:
Oh, nice. When will this be?
Aundrea Walker:
It’s happening in September, I don’t know the date.
Clint Patty:
Okay. But tickets are going to be released soon?
Aundrea Walker:
On Tuesday.
Clint Patty:
On Tuesday.
Aundrea Walker:
Yeah.
Clint Patty:
All right.
Aundrea Walker:
Then we also have Stock-toberfest, coming up September 22nd as well. That’s a family festival that’ll be at Venue 1235, so up in North Lawrence. That’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s the first of its kind this year, and it’ll be an annual thing I think.
Clint Patty:
What happens at Stock-toberfest?
Aundrea Walker:
There will be breweries as well as food trucks. We’ll have a kids corner that’s going to be sponsored by Pines Garden and Market.
Clint Patty:
Nice.
Aundrea Walker:
Live music, so just a wonderful outdoor festival.
Clint Patty:
For folks that would be interested in the dinner series or Stock-toberfest, again, the website the best place to keep up with information?
Aundrea Walker:
That’s it.
Clint Patty:
Justfood.org is the website for folks to go to and keep up with upcoming events at Just Food.
The last thing I want to talk about, we’ve talked about volunteers. But the other piece of any nonprofit is funding. I’m assuming funding is a challenge for Just Food?
Aundrea Walker:
Correct.
Clint Patty:
Folks that might be interested in donating to Just Food, how would they do that?
Aundrea Walker:
There’s many ways that you can donate to Just Food. Once again, there’s that website you can always go to. You could always walk in the door and come upstairs if you are more check-minded.
Clint Patty:
Sure. Some people want to write that check, absolutely.
Aundrea Walker:
They want to write that check and hand it directly over, that’s always an option. Then we also work with Douglas County Community Foundation. There’s donor-advised funds. There’s a myriad of different ways that you can work through them as well, if that’s your preference.
Clint Patty:
Contact person at Just Food, if they are interested in any of these would be?
Aundrea Walker:
Me, Aundrea Walker, or Ali Curbow.
Clint Patty:
Aundrea Walker, the executive director of Just Food, thank you for being a guest today, and for sharing the story of Just Food. It’s compelling, and the need is great. I would encourage anyone in this community interested in either donating or being a volunteer, please get a hold of them at justfood.org. Thank you again.
Aundrea Walker:
Thank you.
Clint Patty:
We’ll see you soon.
You’ve been listening to another episode of Investing in Good. Today’s episode was brought to you by Clayton Wealth Partners. If you’re an individual seeking to increase your impact through thoughtful charitable giving, or if you represent an endowment, a foundation, or a nonprofit that’s looking to safeguard and grow your financial assets, please consider partnering with Clayton Wealth Partners. You can visit us at claytonwealthpartners.com and discover how we can help guide and empower you in your mission to make a difference.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this year, 2024, marks 40 years that Clayton Wealth Partners has been in business. We would love to extend a very special thank you to our clients nationwide. In particular, a thank you to all of Northeast Kansas. We often say that we are here for you. For the last 40 years, we are very thankful that you all have been here for us. On behalf of Clayton Wealth Partners, I’m Clint Patty. I thank you for listening. We will see you soon.