Media

Corporate donors asked to help with food donations

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Ozarks Food Harvest, the only food bank serving 29 counties in Southwest Missouri, shipped more than half a million pounds of food in the two weeks following the ice storms that devastated communities across the Ozarks.

The Food Bank mobilized to ship food and water to emergency shelters in the Ozarks in the days following the storms. At the same time, Ozarks Food Harvest began shipments to area food pantries in anticipation of increased demand for food assistance linked to recovery efforts. The Food Bank’s new Mobile Food Pantry truck, a gift from Ridewell Suspensions and the five Rotary Clubs of Springfield, will also be pressed into use in recovery efforts.

Ozarks Food Harvest’s staff has been working 16 hour days with volunteers to sort and prepare more food for shipment in the coming weeks. Ozarks Food Harvest also tapped into the resources of America’s Second Harvest, The Nation’s Food Bank Network. The Disaster Response Team of America’s Second Harvest secured additional truckloads of food and water from across the country for distribution to the affected areas.

Food Bank officials have appealed to their food industry donors for additional product donations needed to shore up food supplies.  Kraft Foods, Inc. stepped up immediately with two truckloads of food items; other corporate donors are expected to follow.  “We are grateful to Kraft Foods and our network of supporters.  We remain committed to supplying our member agencies with food to meet the needs of their communities,” said Bart Brown, executive director of Ozarks Food Harvest.

The Food Bank is dipping into its cash reserves to procure more food shipments to the area. Costs of Ozarks Food Harvest’s disaster response efforts are estimated to top $250,000.

Ozarks Food Harvest is also appealing to its base of financial donors.  “If you are fortunate enough to be able to help with our recovery efforts, we are respectfully asking you to do so at this time,” said Denise Gibson, Development Director for Ozarks Food Harvest.

# # #

To learn more, contact Lindsey Neddenriep at (417) 865-3411.