Arvest Bank to support Ozarks Food Harvest in April and May
Part of Arvest Bank’s 1 Million Meals campaign
JOPLIN, Mo.— Arvest Bank will fight hunger in southwest Missouri by collecting monetary donations and nonperishable food items at the bank’s area locations for Ozarks Food Harvest now through May 31.
More than 200 Arvest Bank branches across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma have pledged to raise the equivalent of one million meals or more for those in need, and the ten branches in Joplin and four branches in Springfield are doing their part.
According to Denise Gibson, development director at Ozarks Food Harvest, the partnership has a potential of raising 30,000 meals for OFH within just two months. Gibson says there are also three branches in Branson that are collecting food and funds for Ozarks Food Harvest’s member food pantry, CAM, or Christian Action Ministries.
“This food and fund drive comes at an ideal time, as we just revealed new local food insecurity findings last month,” Gibson said. “The Feeding America study found that 16.9 percent of our 28-county service area’s population is food insecure meaning nearly 178,000 individuals are unsure where their next meal will come from.”
“What we need to focus on, and what business supporters like Arvest Bank are stepping up to help us do, is close the gap — 24 percent of our food insecure population is not eligible for any government assistance, such as SNAP or WIC, and must rely on Ozarks Food Harvest’s network of member food pantries and feeding sites for help.”
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About Ozarks Food Harvest—The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America® food bank for southwest Missouri, serving more than 300 hunger relief organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank now reaches 20,000 individuals weekly and distributes nine million pounds of food annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org and at facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest.
About Arvest
In 2011, Arvest celebrates its 50th year of providing financial solutions to its customers. Arvest Bank operates more than 230 bank branches in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas through a network of 16 locally managed banks, each with its own advisory board of directors and management team. These locations service customers in 90 communities with 12-hour weekday banking at most locations. Arvest also provides a wide range of banking services including loans, deposits, treasury management, asset and wealth management, life insurance, credit cards, mortgage loans and mortgage servicing. Arvest is an equal housing lender and member FDIC.