09 April 2008

Kansas City, Missouri, to Host International Food Aid Conference

Area was setting-off point for American settlers moving west

 

The popular J.C. Nichols Fountain in Kansas City, Missouri (Courtesy of Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association)

The popular J.C. Nichols Fountain in Kansas City, Missouri (Courtesy of Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association)

By Kathryn McConnell
Staff Writer

Washington -- Kansas City, Missouri, in the geographic center of America and the heart of America’s breadbasket, has played a storied role in the settling of the American West. The city's unique history and culture will be on display at the annual International Food Aid Conference April 14-16.

Greater Kansas City includes two adjoining cities -- one located in Missouri and the other in Kansas. The cities and their suburbs have a combined population of 2 million.

The conference will focus on such topics as the 2008 Farm Bill, World Trade Organization negotiations, food aid supply and demand trends, emergency and development aid, and nutrition. Participants will include representatives of government as well as the private and nonprofit sectors.

In the mid-1800s, Kansas City, Kansas, was a main setting-off point for people moving by covered wagon over the Oregon, California and Santa Fe trails seeking new opportunities in western America. Trade by riverboat to the West moved on the Missouri River, which flows past Kansas City, Missouri.

The opening of the western half of America doubled the country's geographic size and expanded its global perspective to Pacific rim countries. In 1864 the last major battle of the Civil War was fought in Kansas City, Missouri.

Other facts about the Kansas City area:

In 1856, a group of Kansas City, Missouri, merchants established the Kansas City Board of Trade, a grain exchange that today deals mainly in hard red winter wheat, the main ingredient of bread.

In 1910, local entrepreneur Joyce Hall began selling postcards out of a shoebox. That led to the creation of the world's largest greeting card company, Hallmark Cards. The company contributes to the (Product) Red AIDS campaign and supports the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) through the manufacture and sales of special-message cards.

In 1914, Kansas City, Missouri, opened Union Station, one of the country's largest rail centers. During World War II, almost half of all American soldiers passed through the station.  Local lore has it that a friendly mouse approached Walt Disney when he was passing through the station and provided the famed animator with the inspiration for the beloved cartoon character Mickey Mouse.

In 1922, entrepreneur J.C. Nichols opened Country Club Plaza, the nation's first shopping district designed for access by automobile. Many of Kansas City, Missouri's hundreds of fountains are located on or near the plaza, still a vibrant shopping and entertainment area.

In 1945, farmer, salesman and judge Harry Truman, from nearby Independence, Missouri, east of Greater Kansas City, became the 33rd president of the United States, succeeding Franklin Roosevelt. Truman won bipartisan support for the Marshall Plan, which rebuilt postwar Europe.

In 1953, former General Dwight Eisenhower, from Abilene, Kansas, west of Greater Kansas City, became the 34th president of the United States. Three years later, Eisenhower, joined by entertainer Bob Hope, Olympic champion Jesse Owens, Disney and Hall, founded People to People International, which is based in Kansas City, Missouri.

The organization, which promotes world peace and cross-cultural understanding, today is led by Eisenhower's granddaughter, Mary Eisenhower.