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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Ozarks Food Harvest and iHeartRadio Springfield will kick off the 25th annual Hungerthon radio-thon Friday morning with the goal of raising $250,000 to sponsor 700 children for The Food Bank’s Weekend Backpack Program. This program provides more than 1,700 local children with six nutritious meals each weekend throughout the school year.

Clint “Girlie” Gerlek and Jennifer “Hemmy” Hemmer of iHeartRadio will host the four-day Hunger Action Month event from Friday, Sept. 8 through Monday, Sept. 11 asking listeners to help sponsor kids for the Weekend Backpack Program. To listen to Hungerthon, participants can tune in to Alice 95.5, US97, 100.5 The Wolf, 105.9 KGBX or download the iHeartRadio app.

To make a pledge, listeners can call the Hunger Hotline at 417-409-6661 or donate securely online at ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate/hungerthon. For a donation of $360, a child will receive a bag with two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, drinks and snacks every weekend for an entire school year. Donors can also sponsor a child for a semester for $180.

Ozarks Food Harvest’s Weekend Backpack Program provides more than 63,000 food bags annually to more than 60 southwest Missouri schools in 17 counties. One in 7 children face hunger in The Food Bank’s 28-county service area, especially on the weekends when school meals aren’t available.

The community can also help local children through “Hungerthon Day at McDonalds” on September 10, as McDonald’s will be donating a portion of sales to benefit the Weekend Backpack Program.

Backpack donations will be matched by individuals, businesses and foundations including A-1 Guarantee Roofing, AECI, BluCurrent Credit Union, CoxHealth, Great Southern Bank, Harter House, International Brotherhood of Electric Workers #453, Kum & Go, McDonald’s, Peck’s Insurance and Financial Services, Positronic Industries, SRC Community Relations Committee, Stomp the Blues Out of Homelessness, Watson Metal Masters Inc. and Yahweh’s Place at Cedarville. Several local businesses are also serving as event sponsors including Air Services All Services and Hy-Vee.

To learn more about Hungerthon or other Hunger Action Month activities, visit hungeractionmonth.info.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest — The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 270 faith-based and community charities across a third of Missouri. The Food Bank reaches 60,000 individuals monthly and provides more than 20 million meals annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or instagram.com/ozarksfoodharvest.