McDonald’s Cans for Coffee donations provide thousands of meals
Customers donate more than 27,000 pounds of food during annual drive for Ozarks pantries
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Ozarks Food Harvest received a large truckload of nonperishable food items this week, thanks to the ninth annual McDonald’s Cans for Coffee food drive that ended Sept. 25.
More than sixty area McDonald’s restaurants collected 27,254 pounds of food for hunger relief in the Ozarks. The donation makes Cans for Coffee one of the largest food drives for Ozarks Food Harvest.
“We are so thankful for all of our team members and customers for helping McDonald’s of the Ozarks to reach these incredible numbers. We couldn’t do it without their support,” said Andi Hilburn-Vaini, McDonald’s of the Ozarks Co-Op president and local McDonald’s owner-operator.
Combined with a 40,000-pound chicken donation in the name of Cans for Coffee from Tyson Foods, the drive will allow Ozarks Food Harvest to distribute 56,000 meals to its network of member agencies.
Over 25,000 pounds of the food collected through Cans for Coffee will benefit Ozarks Food Harvest’s member pantries, with an additional 2,000 pounds benefitting food banks and pantries in Arkansas and central Missouri.
“Cans for Coffee brings awareness about the issue of hunger to thousands of McDonald’s customers every year, and makes a big impact for people struggling with hunger in our community. We’re grateful for this partnership that has allowed us to provide hundreds of thousands of meals over the last nine years,” said Denise Gibson, director of development and communication for Ozarks Food Harvest.
From Aug. 29 through Sept. 25, McDonald’s of the Ozarks encouraged customers to donate a canned good in exchange for one free small McCafé beverage of their choice.
Since 2008, McDonald’s of the Ozarks has collected more than 232,000 pounds of food — more than 193,000 meals — from community members through Cans for Coffee.
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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 200 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank provides 14.6 million meals annually to more than 260,000 unduplicated individuals. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.