How Pete's Garden, Rockhurst High School, and ODS Are Helping Kansas City Families
What if perfectly good food that might otherwise go to waste could become a nutritious family dinner for someone in need?
That's the mission behind Pete's Garden, a Kansas City nonprofit turning surplus prepared food into wholesome, ready-to-heat meals for families experiencing food insecurity.
This October, OnSite Dealer Solutions (ODS) proudly returned as a sponsor of Rockhurst High School's second annual Chipping for the Garden golf tournament at Oakwood Country Club in Kansas City, Missouri.
But this year's story goes well beyond the golf course. It's about a growing organization, a remarkable founder, and a community coming together to help more families gather around the dinner table.
A Daughter's Project Becomes a Mission
Pete's Garden began in 2019 after founder and executive director Tamara Weber and her daughter explored the staggering amount of food wasted across America for a school project.
What started as research became a mission to do something about it.
With a background in new business development at Hallmark, Tamara combined her business experience, determination, and compassion to create a nonprofit built around a simple principle: Less food waste. More family meals.
The organization's name also carries a special meaning. Tamara's father, Pete Sluk, maintained a backyard garden in Pennsylvania where he grew more produce than his family needed and regularly shared the extra harvest with neighbors.
That spirit of generosity helped inspire Pete's Garden.
The organization's first food recovery took place around Thanksgiving 2019, working alongside Operation Breakthrough, one of its longtime community partners.
What began as a small effort has since grown into an impressive Kansas City food recovery operation.
Turning Surplus Food Into Family Dinners
Today, Pete's Garden operates from a commercial kitchen, recovering more than 5,000 pounds of prepared food weekly and helping provide ready-to-eat, take-home meals to over 1,000 Kansas City families each week.
Its food donors include hotels, restaurants, caterers, schools, entertainment venues, and sports organizations.
Rather than allowing quality, unserved food to go to waste, Pete's Garden recovers it, safely packages it into family-sized meals, and works with trusted social service agencies to distribute it.
The meals include proteins and sides, often featuring foods families might not otherwise have the opportunity to enjoy.
For Tamara, the mission goes beyond fighting hunger.
It's about giving families the opportunity to sit down together and enjoy a good meal.
Through organizations such as Operation Breakthrough and other community partners, Pete's Garden reaches families who can benefit from nutritious, convenient meals prepared with care and dignity.
Even the World Cup Made a Difference
Pete's Garden's growing reputation was on full display during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when Kansas City welcomed international soccer fans and teams.
Working with FIFA and local hospitality partners, Pete's Garden helped recover surplus prepared food from World Cup-related events and redirect it toward families in need.
Food that might otherwise have been discarded became part of the organization's ongoing effort to feed Kansas City families.
It's a powerful example of how major events, hospitality businesses, and community organizations can work together to reduce waste while making a meaningful difference.
Here is a recent article done by FIFA highlighting their work with Pete’s Garden titled, “From the FIFA
World Cup to the dinner tables of Kansas City’s Families in Need.”
Watch Pete's Garden World Cup Food Recovery
Pete's Garden also receives support from Kansas City's professional sports community, including the Kansas City Chiefs, Royals, Current, and Sporting KC.
Last Year's Success Fuels New Growth
One of the most encouraging parts of our recent conversation with Tamara was hearing how last year's golf tournament made a lasting difference.
Funds raised through the inaugural Chipping for the Garden event helped Pete's Garden invest in a much-needed customer relationship management (CRM) system, implemented in early 2026.
The new system has helped the organization streamline operations and better manage the growing demands of its food recovery mission.
This year's fundraising goal addresses another critical need: additional freezer capacity.
With thousands of pounds of prepared food being recovered each week, proper storage, on location, is essential.
More freezer space means Pete's Garden can safely accommodate additional donated food in-house, improve its operational capacity, and ultimately help feed more Kansas City families.
It's a practical investment with a meaningful purpose.
Rockhurst Golf Gives Back Again
This year's Chipping for the Garden tournament was organized by Rockhurst High School seniors Hank Homsey and Henry Mayor, son of ODS founder and president Heath Mayor.
Both accomplished golfers preparing for college next year, Hank and Henry continued the charitable tradition established by Rockhurst student-athletes during last year's inaugural event.
With support from the Rockhurst High School Golf Team, school staff, volunteers, participating golfers, and sponsors, the tournament once again brought the Kansas City community together around a cause worth supporting.
The event also welcomed Kansas City Royals Hall of Famer George Brett, who participated in the tournament and signed memorabilia to raise money for the organization.
For ODS, supporting the event reflects our commitment to giving back to the communities where our employees, dealership partners, and families live and work.
We're especially proud to see young leaders like Henry and his Rockhurst teammates helping carry this tradition forward.
Three Ways You Can Help
One message Tamara emphasized during our conversation was that Pete's Garden needs more than financial donations.
There are several meaningful ways individuals and businesses can support the mission:
- Make a Financial Donation: Help Pete's Garden expand its food recovery capabilities, purchase needed equipment, and deliver more meals to local families.
- Volunteer Your Time: Help package, prepare, and distribute meals. With thousands of pounds of food arriving each week, there's no shortage of meaningful work for volunteers.
- Become a Food Donor: Restaurants, hotels, chefs, caterers, breakfast buffet operators, corporate kitchens, and other food service businesses can donate eligible, unserved prepared food instead of letting it go to waste.
Every contribution helps turn surplus food into something much more valuable: a meal shared by a family that needs it.
Thank You for Making a Difference
OnSite Dealer Solutions extends a heartfelt thank-you to Tamara Weber and the Pete's Garden team, Rockhurst High School's Golf Team and staff, Henry Mayor and teammate Hank Homsey, our dedicated volunteers, Oakwood Country Club, George Brett, participating golfers, generous donors, and everyone who helped make this year's tournament possible.
A special thank-you also goes to Heath Mayor and OnSite Dealer Solutions for their continued support of this important Kansas City cause.
We're proud to stand behind an organization that is proving how much good can come from something as simple as a school project dream to make sure quality food doesn't go to waste.
Less food waste. More family meals.
