Get Involved

The Merry Outlaw’s mission is simple: 

We want everyone in Kansas City to have access to nourishing food and joyful social connection. 

Our approach is multi-faceted:

Through different business phases, The Merry Outlaw will fulfill its mission by partnering with other organizations, collaborating with stakeholders, and designing our programs based on the ideas and insights we receive from our local community. 

We’re sharing our timeline so that our community knows what to expect and can look out for ways to get involved. 
If you want to contribute to any stage of this timeline, or have insights you want to share, drop us a line.

Our Timeline

  • #TMOPortraitProject

    The goal of sharing stories and portraits is to highlight unique life experiences throughout our community. These stories foster learning, understanding, and empathy for everyone in the Kansas City area. We have been (and will continue) using storytelling through our Portrait Project to cultivate valuable connections.

  • Events & Partnerships

    We have been (and will continue) hosting events, parties, donation-based yoga classes, and fundraisers to highlight and support local organizations, artists, and individuals who are already doing important work for our community.

  • Fundraising Dinner Series

    We will be hosting a number of dinners to test out The Merry Outlaw menu, spread awareness about our mission, and gather insights and inspiration from the people who attend. With the feedback and profits we receive, we’ll host a recurring community dinner that is free and open to the public. The event will focus on delicious, nourishing food, warm conversation, and joyful connection. No matter which dinner you attend, you’re playing an integral part in our mission.

  • Food Truck

    In partnership with local sponsors, we will introduce KC’s first ever non-profit food truck. We’ll bring the food truck to corporate campuses so local employees can enjoy our awesome food. All our food truck employees make a living wage, so everyone buying a meal can pay it forward, making a small donation in lieu of a tip. Once a week, the food truck will stop at a central location, dishing up delicious free food and offering social services.

  • App Development

    We will create an app that connects people with the resources they need. Anything from food, housing, or help with taxes, our app will be a tool to make it easier to swap resources and share skills. The app will provide a platform for people to communicate with each other at their convenience.

  • The Restaurant

    Our mission-driven restaurant will open, with a unique business model designed to serve everyone in Kansas City. Dinner profits will subsidize a lunch voucher program, so that folks experiencing food insecurity will be able to eat for free, from the same delicious and nourishing menu paying lunch customers will order from. Through the experience of the community meal, we will work to connect people to resources and establish meaningful relationships.

  • Service Expansion

    Based on the feedback we receive from community, we’ll conduct needs assessment and create programming to address the biggest needs. We’ll create educational programs that range from healthy cooking on a budget to meal prepping. We’ll hire a social worker to expand services based on feedback from the app and within the community. The social worker will also develop a traineeship program that focuses on providing ongoing job skills training and promoting folks to full time restaurant positions.

  • Food & Connection For All

    The Merry Outlaw will be a communal, joyful, and dignified space for providing nourishing food and fostering social connectedness in Kansas City, MO.