How volunteers help multiply every dollar you donate
One of the biggest reasons Ozarks Food Harvest can take your $1 donation and turn it into $10 worth of groceries is volunteers.
Without volunteers, The Food Bank would need to hire 14 full-time employees to ensure food was sorted and packed on time to match the incredible demand they’re experiencing from the community. Volunteers help redirect nearly $1 million in labor a year towards providing more meals for children, families and seniors facing hunger.
Bart tells me that’s just one small piece of what the 3,700 volunteers that visit The Food Bank each year do for our southwest Missouri community. Volunteers are also key to Ozarks Food Harvest’s mission to Transform Hunger into Hope because they help ensure food moves smoothly through The Food Bank and raise awareness about hunger through their advocacy.
From a distribution perspective, each volunteer helps provide more than 300 meals during a single sort-and-pack session in The Food Bank’s warehouse. They also harvest produce with Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens to ensure families have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Many even take the next step by giving out food at local pantries and Mobile Food Pantries that they helped sort!
The Food Bank treats each volunteer experience with respect and care. They host three-hour sessions with a break and ensure every volunteer knows exactly where they need to be, what they’re doing, and how many meals they’re helping give to their community. This is important because each time a volunteer tells a friend about their positive experience with The Food Bank, wears an Ozarks Food Harvest T-shirt or posts a photo on social media, they’re helping shine a spotlight on hunger.
Stacy Koch, a longtime volunteer with her husband at Ozarks Food Harvest, explains what it means to give back to our neighbors facing hunger. “When you’re part of the community, it’s nice to help give to that community,” Stacy said. “We’ve been blessed, but I know if we had issues where we needed some help, I would want people to help me. This is just something small we can do once a month on a Saturday.”
I’d like to personally thank all of Ozarks Food Harvest’s volunteers for their commitment to helping end hunger in the Ozarks. Your gift of time is invaluable, and I truly appreciate you.
If you’ve yet to volunteer with The Food Bank, I encourage you to apply and schedule a session online at ozarksfoodharvest.org/volunteer. Just one three-hour volunteer session can help a family put dinner on the table tonight.