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Egg donation provides food-insecure families across the Ozarks with high-protein meal option

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Ozarks Food Harvest will receive a donation of 23,400 dozen eggs from local egg producer Opal Foods on April 10 to help feed families facing hunger.

This year’s generous gift of 280,800 eggs will bring the total donation from Opal Foods to more than 3.4 million eggs since the annual Easter season egg donation began in 2008.

“Eggs are an extremely important meal ingredient for so many of the families we help,” said Bart Brown, president/CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest. “They’re very versatile and serve as an excellent source of protein. This longstanding partnership with Opal Foods continues to provide for thousands of people each Easter season, and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

Opal Foods is a franchisee of Eggland’s Best and produces eggs in Missouri, Colorado, and Iowa. The company, headquartered in Neosho, employs over 300. The producer is working with Huntington Woods Logistics to deliver the eggs to The Food Bank free of charge.

“The Opal Foods team is happy to enter our 12th year of partnering with Ozarks Food Harvest during the Easter season,” said Brock Peterson, president of Opal Foods. “We are also proud to supply a nutritious product, packed with protein, to the families of southwest Missouri.”

One in five children and one in seven adults struggle with hunger in the Ozarks. The nutrition these children, families and seniors receive from food like eggs is critical as hunger-relief organizations continue to work toward solving hunger.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest — The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, providing food to 270 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties serving 261,000 unduplicated individuals. The Food Bank provides more than 17 million meals annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.