Cali Pettijohn has a fascinating job. Since 2008, she’s been immersing students from other countries in the American experience and teaching them English. She works for Missouri State University’s English Language Institute, and her students recently volunteered with Ozarks Food Harvest.
This summer, Wesley United Methodist Church reached a 4,000 volunteer-hours milestone. It is the largest amount of volunteered time a group has ever given at Ozarks Food Harvest.
This school year, a great benefit available to all students for the past two years isn’t there – free breakfast and lunch.
For the first time in two years, the need for food assistance has spiked back to pandemic levels highs because of the lingering effects of COVID-19. Now, families, businesses, and charities across the Ozarks suffer from inflation, high food prices, and the increased cost of living.
Ozarks Food Harvest took several opportunities to invest in our community over the past fiscal year, which ran from July 2021 to June 2022. I want to take a moment to reflect on what we were able to accomplish with your partnership.
Hunger Action Month is one of the most exciting times of the year at Ozarks Food Harvest. Each September, we work together with local businesses and organizations and ask them to take action against hunger and support the Weekend Backpack Program.