In Oregon County, where food insecurity rates are higher than the southwest Missouri average, people saw that their neighbors needed help and came together to make the incredible happen.
Did you know that for every meal Ozarks Food Harvest provides, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nine? That’s the enormous impact federal nutrition programs have on our southwest Missouri community. It’s important for you to know this because Congress is revisiting the Farm Bill this fall, the legislation that funds nutrition programs like SNAP, and their decision will help determine if families can continue to put food on the table.
Ozarks Food Harvest will lose an estimated $3 million worth of food this year due to recent USDA cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). A third of the cancelled orders were protein items like beef, chicken, eggs and pork, which are often the most expensive for us to purchase.
“Without a food bag, I would go home hungry on weekends. I depend on them to get me through the weekend.” – Cheyenne
Thanks to a nearly $200,000 grant from the Jeanette L. Musgrave Foundation – the largest grant the Full Circle Gardens program has ever received – our team has made important updates to our raised garden beds, irrigation system and produce transport at The Food Bank Farm.
Brooke has faced two major challenges in her life: Being a mother and overcoming addiction. Both are feats worth celebrating. Both take a village. But when Brooke was at her lowest, she didn’t have a village.