KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A local nonprofit is on a mission to help give healthy and organic produce to people fighting cancer.

“Organic food is really the best thing for their bodies and it’s not easy to find,” Food for the Cure’s Board Vice President Alan Staples said.

The nonprofit is working to change that for every cancer patient in the metro.

“Especially if they’re getting chemo, the last thing you want to do is add chemicals and you want to get the healthiest food to help recover from that,” Food for the Cure’s founder Andrew Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald created the nonprofit after losing his mother to cancer. He says she couldn’t afford organic food and wants to take that burden away from others, so they grow organic produce and donate them for free to cancer patients in the hospital.

“It means a lot because if I was that person sick in the hospital, my heart would be overjoyed with it because anything that you can eat organically is so much better for you and then knowing that someone cares for you while you’re down,” player Carey Seetin said.

They held their first annual Feed Their Fight pickleball tournament on Sunday and are hoping to raise 20,000 dollars this year to expand their reach.

“If we could just give that person another minute, another smile, time enough for another hug with a loved one, that’s all we’re really trying to do, and it means a lot to us,” Staples said.

Right now, they’re growing the produce on a small plot in a community garden, but say that a larger farm will help them grow at least 10 to 20 times more produce than what they can currently.

“No matter their wealth, no matter what. If they have cancer, they get organic food free from us,” Food for the Cure’s Treasurer Jennie Fowler said.

If you’d like to learn more visit the Food for the Cure website.