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For kids facing hunger, summer vacation can be anything but a break. When 1 in 5 children across the Ozarks face hunger, the days can be full of worry – worry about not having enough to eat.

Children who receive free or reduced-price breakfast or lunch make up 67% of the households we serve. Without the meals they receive at school, many children will go to bed hungry.

Did you know families turn to Ozarks Food Harvest’s regional hunger-relief network in greater numbers for help providing three meals a day while school is out? Through The Food Bank’s Summer Food Program, Mobile Pantry and our network of 270 hunger-relief partners, more than 50,000 individuals are served monthly. With your help, we can increase access to healthy food and help families thrive during the summer months.

You can help us get nutritious food to kids and their families through our Summer Harvest campaign.

• You and your family can attend an event! Summer Harvest, presented by Missouri Eye Institute, is hosting events all season long. From swimming during Splash and Sizzle, to racing at Lucas Oil Speedway, to the Taste of SoMo culinary event. You can find them all on our Events Calendar.
• Get involved with our Full Circle Gardens and Plant-a-Row programs. More information here.
• Donate or host a fundraiser.
• Volunteer with us.

Summer vacation can last up to 90 days. For kids who count on school meal programs to stay healthy, summer could mean three months of worry and hunger. Your support will help children like eight-year-old Zoey who shared, “The food bank helps us because it gives us food to eat. It gives us cereal and milk. It gives us lunch and dinner, too.”

There are still too many children in southwest Missouri facing hunger, but your support helps fill the gaps for families in need. Help us connect children and their families to healthy meals this summer.

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