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Ozarks Food Harvest’s Mobile Food Pantry visits Greenfield

SRINGFIELD, Mo.— Nearly 200 Dade County residents benefited from Ozarks Food Harvest’s Mobile Food Pantry™ which rolled into Greenfield on Thursday, October 22. The pantry was coordinated through the Dade County OACAC Neighborhood Center, a member of southwest Missouri’s Food Bank Network, Ozarks Food Harvest.

The distribution took place at the Main Street Baptist Church, and was manned by volunteers from the Greenfield High School football team. Items including cereal, lunch meats, Kraft® cheese, fresh produce, bakery goods, chicken broth, snacks and shampoo were handed to those in need. A total of 9,840 lbs. was distributed from Ozarks Food Harvest.

Ozarks Food Harvest’s Mobile Food Pantry™ program utilizes trucks donated by area Rotary Clubs and Ridewell Suspensions to bring donated food and supplies to people in communities that need assistance.

“The communities our Mobile Food Pantry™ program serves are typically underserved areas with higher poverty rates,” said Lindsey Neddenriep, Public Relations Coordinator at Ozarks Food Harvest. “When we piloted the program a few years ago, we were focusing on rural communities with either high elderly populations or nonexistent transportation for families to get to the nearest food pantry; however, in today’s economy, a number of communities need a little extra help because so many people are out of work.”

Mobile Food Pantry™ distributions send out approximately 12,000 lbs. of food items and sometimes household supplies such as toilet paper and also personal care items like toothpaste or shampoo. Distributions can range from 100 individuals to 250 families. The items distributed depend on what has recently been donated to The Food Bank (Ozarks Food Harvest) from companies such as Kraft Foods or Associated Wholesale Grocers among others, according to The Food Bank.

“We are currently sending our Mobile Food Pantry™ out weekly,” Neddenriep said. “We’re seeing a new face of hunger across our 29 county service area — people who have been working their entire lives and are now trying to make ends meet on either unemployment benefits or with multiple jobs. Some of these individuals needing help have never before had to ask for help.”

“I’m grateful to be a part of The Food Bank who partners with organizations such as the Dade County Neighborhood Center to get food into the hands of families who really need it most, especially right now when times are so tough,” Neddenriep said.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest—The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the only food bank in southwest Missouri and serves more than 350 hunger relief organizations, such as the Dade County OACAC Neighborhood Center. The Food Bank reaches more than 55,000 people each month across 29 Ozarks counties. Ozarks Food Harvest distributed seven million pounds of food during its last fiscal year — the highest distribution in The Food Bank’s 25-year history — made possible due to its network of charities and direct-relief programs such as the Weekend Backpack Program™, Kids Cafe® and the Mobile Food Pantry™ program. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org.