Backpack Program receives $40,000 gift from Force for Good
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— St. John’s Clinic presented $40,000 to Ozarks Food Harvest today for The Food Bank’s Weekend Backpack Program.
“We can’t thank the employees and doctors at St. John’s enough for helping us feed so many children in need in communities across the Ozarks,” said Ozarks Food Harvest President/CEO Bart Brown.
The donations come from St. John’s semi-annual Force for Good campaign, named “Every Kid Counts” for the summer round. Clinic employees and doctors donate and fundraise for the campaign to benefit local nonprofit agencies.
The funding will help provide at-risk children in 16 southwest Missouri communities with backpacks filled with nutritious child-friendly foods for them to take home on the weekends. The $40,000 donation will benefit 96 students each week, providing 3,456 backpacks during the school year—more than 20,700 meals.
The Food Bank’s Weekend Backpack Program begins Friday, Sept. 2, in 30 area schools, including 13 in Springfield. Individuals can sponsor a backpack for other children in need for $300 annually or $150 per semester. Donations can be made securely online at ozarksfoodharvest.org. Corporate sponsorships are also available.
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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 in addition to the long-term relief sites in Joplin. The Food Bank reaches 20,000 individuals weekly and distributes one million pounds of food monthly. OFH was named the 2011 Small Business of the Year by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org and at facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest.