Invest in hope this holiday season
As you gather with loved ones to celebrate this holiday season, I encourage you to consider an investment in Ozarks Food Harvest. In southwest Missouri, 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults don’t know where their next meal will come from, much less a warm holiday meal. Your act of generosity can make a life-changing difference.
Ozarks Food Harvest is one of the best charitable investments you can make to help our neighbors facing hunger because they can stretch your dollar further. With their strong community partnerships and responsible stewardship, 96 cents of every dollar goes directly to hunger-relief programs, and every $1 donated helps provide 3 meals. President and CEO Bart Brown also tells me that Ozarks Food Harvest provides 7 out of every 10 meals distributed by their network of faith-based and community charities.
I encourage you to read some of the stories in this month’s newsletter that highlight the great work Ozarks Food Harvest does for folks in southwest Missouri. These stories reaffirm the positive impact your support brings to children, families and seniors facing hunger. The cover story shares a single mother’s perspective on why Ozarks Food Harvest’s Mobile Food Pantry is important to her family and others in rural communities. On page two, you can learn how one of The Food Bank’s longest partnerships with Texas County Food Pantry is keeping families fed in Missouri’s largest county. And Bart’s Hope Note on page four explains how The Food Bank has responded to feed families during the record-long government shutdown.
As you read these stories of hope, consider how you can help give back to your community during this season of giving. You can check with your employer to see if they offer a donation match to stretch your dollar further. Or, consider making a tax-free charitable gift from your Individual Retirement Account (IRA), also known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), that may save you more in taxes than traditional charitable donations. Additionally, think about including Ozarks Food Harvest in your estate planning so your gift can provide hope for generations to come.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment to ending hunger in these challenging times. Because of you, thousands of families across southwest Missouri will be able to celebrate the holidays by sharing a meal together. My family and I wish you and your loved ones a warm and joyful holiday season.