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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Grocery shoppers have until Dec. 31 to Check Out Hunger for Ozarks Food Harvest at nearly 100 participating stores, including Akin’s, Bistro Market, Country Mart, Dillons, Harter House, Hy-Vee, Mama Jean’s, Murfin’s Market, Price Cutter, Ramey, Save-A-Lot, Smitty’s, Summer Fresh, Town & Country and Woods Supermarket.

The fourteenth annual Check Out Hunger 2012 campaign began Nov. 15 in more than 50 communities to help feed the 170,000 people Ozarks Food Harvest serves annually through its member pantries and agencies.

Last year, Ozarks Food Harvest’s Check Out Hunger program raised $22,000, and since 1998, the holiday campaign has collected nearly $200,000 in donations. This year’s goal is to raise $30,000.

Check Out Hunger 2012 gives community members the opportunity to add a $1, $3 or $5 tax-free donation to their bill when checking out at area grocers. Shoppers will find displays in the check-out lanes at their local grocery stores. When a shopper chooses to add a donation of choice to his or her grocery bill, the cashier simply scans the donation barcode and the donor signs a donor card for display. The donation is added to the bill and appears on the receipt.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest—The Food Bank                                                                                                                

Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 250 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank distributes 10 million meals annually to 170,000 unduplicated individuals. OFH was named the 2011 Small Business of the Year by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and its facility, the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief, recently received a Superior AIB International Food Safety Rating. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.