Local grocers’ campaign ends Dec. 31
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Shoppers have until Dec. 31 to Check-out Hunger for Ozarks Food Harvest at 60 participating area grocers, including Akin’s, Bistro Market, Country Mart, Harter House, Murfin’s Market, Price Cutter, Ramey, Save-A-Lot, Smillie’s, Smitty’s, Summer Fresh and Woods Supermarket.
Check-out Hunger gives community members the opportunity to add a $1 tax-free donation to their bill when checking out at local Ozarks grocers. Shoppers will find displays in the check-out lanes, and when a supporter chooses to add a donation of choice to his or her grocery bill, the cashier simply scans the donation barcode and the donor signs a donor card for display. The donation is added to the bill and appears on the receipt.
The thirteenth annual Check-out Hunger campaign began Nov. 15 in nearly 40 communities to help feed the 20,000 people Ozarks Food Harvest’s network of charities serves weekly across 28 Ozarks counties.
For every dollar donated, the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri provides six meals for those in need. Last year, Ozarks Food Harvest’s Check-out Hunger program raised $27,000, nearly double the previous year’s grand total. Since 1998, the holiday campaign has collected more than $172,000 in donations.
“On behalf of our local grocers, we are pleased to help Ozarks Food Harvest feed so many in need this holiday season,” said Bill Smillie, executive director of the Ozark Empire Grocers Association. “Our primary goal in our industry is to provide safe and quality food to the public, and we feel there’s no better organization to support than Ozarks Food Harvest.”
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About Ozarks Food Harvest—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 reaches approximately 80,000 individuals monthly and distributes 12 million pounds of food annually. 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.