News

As we transition from the holiday season into 2024, Ozarks Food Harvest is still serving more than 70,000 individuals each month – nearly 20,000 more than during the height of the COVID-19 crisis. People are experiencing the daunting challenges of winter, including higher utility bills, childcare, housing and food costs. Although thousands of donors and volunteers helped us during the holiday season to ensure families could put a meal on the table, there’s still work to be done.

That’s why year-round giving is critical to The Food Bank. One in 7 children and adults face hunger in the Ozarks, which means these folks don’t know when they will get their next meal. The dramatic increase in demand in 2023 consumed a large portion of Ozarks Food Harvest’s resources, and they’ve only been able to keep up because of generous donations from individuals, businesses and foundations.

Monetary donations help The Food Bank ensure their network of 270 charities are consistently supplied with food and their programs continue to serve people who may fall through the cracks with regular distributions. Your gift will help ensure a child has enough food to eat over the weekend through the Weekend Backpack Program or help a grandmother continue to receive a box of nutritious food every month through the Senior Food Program.

The best part about making a gift to Ozarks Food Harvest is you can rest assured that it’s being spent wisely. Last fall, Ozarks Food Harvest earned a 100 percent rating from Charity Navigator, America’s largest and most-utilized independent charity evaluator, based on their performance across multiple metrics, such as finance, impact and results. Not only that, they received their 12th consecutive Four-Star Rating, indicating The Food Bank outperforms most other charities in America.

I encourage you to read Bart’s article this month for more information about Ozarks Food Harvest’s quality standards because high performance and ratings like this don’t happen by accident. They’re the direct result of The Food Bank being good stewards of every dollar you donate throughout the year.

Please consider becoming a regular monthly donor with Ozarks Food Harvest by joining their Harvest Circle community. When you sign up, you save time and postage by setting up automatic payments every month. One-time donations go a long way, but monthly commitments give The Food Bank the flexibility to budget for an increased demand for food and unexpected expenses. And if you’re already a monthly donor, please consider increasing the amount you give. Your generous gift can help provide millions of meals to families facing hunger and bring hope in the new year.

Thank you in advance for your help in 2024. If you’d like more information about how your gift is being used to give hope to the community, please give Bart a call.