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SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— More than sixty southwest Missouri grocery stores are teaming up with Ozarks Food Harvest to help Check Out Hunger throughout the Ozarks during the 17^th annual retail fundraiser that begins Nov. 15, continuing through Dec. 31.

Check Out Hunger gives shoppers the opportunity to add a $1, $3 or $5 tax-free donation to their grocery bill when checking out at area retailers, including Akin’s, Bistro Market, Country Mart, Harter House, Hy-Vee, King Cash Saver, Murfin’s Market, Pennington’s Supermarket, Price Cutter, Price Cutter Plus, Ramey, Rhodes Family Price Chopper, Smitty’s, Summer Fresh and Woods Supermarket.

Shoppers will find Check Out Hunger signs 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 an “apple” for display. The tax-free gift is added to the bill and appears on the receipt.

In the 28 counties Ozarks Food Harvest serves, 180,000 individuals are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where they will receive their next meal. In southwest Missouri, more than 60,000 of those that struggle with food insecurity are children. Through community initiatives like Check Out Hunger, The Food Bank hopes to bring awareness to the issue of hunger in the Ozarks while transforming hunger into hope for families in need.

The 2014 fundraiser collected $49,628—the equivalent of nearly 250,000 meals. Since 1998, the holiday campaign has collected $387,100 in donations—the equivalent of nearly 1.9 million meals. Every dollar raised through the Check Out Hunger fundraiser will provide five meals to hungry children, families and seniors this holiday season.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest–The Food Bank

Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 200 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank distributes 14 million meals—or more than 16 million pounds—annually to more than 260,000 unduplicated individuals. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.

NOTE: The following communities are participating in Check Out Hunger in 2015:

Ash Grove, Aurora, Bolivar, Branson, Branson West, Buffalo, Carthage, Cassville, Clever, Conway, El Dorado Springs, Fair Grove, Forsyth, Granby, Greenfield, Hollister, Joplin, Kimberling City, Lamar, Lebanon, Licking, Marionville, Marshfield, Monett, Mount Vernon,  Neosho, Nevada, Nixa, Ozark, Purdy, Republic, Seymour, Sparta, Springfield, Stockton, Strafford, Waynesville, Webb City, West Plains, and Willard.