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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Ozarks Food Harvest and iHeartRadio Springfield will kick off the 27th annual Hungerthon radio-thon on Friday, Sept. 5 with the goal of raising $250,000 to sponsor 700 children for The Food Bank’s Weekend Backpack Program. The Weekend Backpack Program provides more than 1,600 local children facing hunger with six nutritious meals to take home each weekend throughout the school year.

Clint “Girlie” Gerlek of iHeartRadio and Bart Brown of Ozarks Food Harvest will host the four-day Hunger Action Month event which runs from Friday, Sept. 5 through Monday, Sept. 8. They’ll be asking listeners to donate to support the Weekend Backpack Program. To listen to Hungerthon, participants can tune in to Alice 95.5, US97, 100.5 The Wolf, 105.9 KGBX or download the iHeartRadio app.

To make a donation, donors can call the Hunger Hotline at 417-409-6661 or donate securely online at ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate/hungerthon. A donation of $360 provides a child with a bag containing two nutritious breakfasts, lunches and dinners, as well as drinks and snacks every weekend for an entire school year. A donation of $180 sponsors a child for a semester.

In The Food Bank’s 28-county service area, 1 in 5 children face hunger, making weekends when school meals aren’t available challenging. Ozarks Food Harvest’s Weekend Backpack Program provides more than 60,000 bags of food each year to nearly 60 southwest Missouri schools in 15 counties. The community can also help local children facing hunger through “Hungerthon Day at McDonalds” on September 8, as participating local McDonald’s locations will be donating a portion of sales to benefit the Weekend Backpack Program.

Backpack donations will be matched by individuals, businesses and foundations including Arvest Bank, Associated Electric Coop. Inc., Cox Health, Fireworks Supermarket, French’s, Great Southern Bank, Harter House – Hollister, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 453, McDonald’s, Mid-Missouri Bank, Positronic, Pyramid Battery, Ross Construction Group, SRC Community Relations Committee, Stomp the Blues out of Homelessness, Vital Farms and Yahweh’s Place.

To learn more about Hungerthon and other Hunger Action Month events, visit hungeractionmonth.info.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest — The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 270 faith-based and community charities across a third of Missouri. The Food Bank reaches 60,000 individuals monthly and provides more than 20 million meals annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or instagram.com/ozarksfoodharvest.