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Ozarks Food Harvest honors married couple with Jim Blackwell Golden Gleaners Award

June 15, 2022

Marilyn and Jerry Corson received the award for their work with The Food Bank’s Full Circle Gardens Program

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Ozarks Food Harvest recently honored married volunteers Marilyn and Jerry Corson with the Jim Blackwell Golden Gleaners Award for contributing more than 500 hours of service and volunteering weekly at Ozarks Food Harvest’s home garden for the past four years.

“In nursing, we learned that food, water and shelter are basic human needs,” said Marilyn Corson, volunteer at Ozarks Food Harvest. “I know there are those in the Ozarks who have had struggles meeting those needs.”

Every week, Marilyn and Jerry help with all aspects of growing and harvesting produce to be distributed to families in Ozarks Food Harvest’s network of charities. Marilyn Corson joined The Food Bank’s Glean Team the same month she retired from being a nurse practitioner and encouraged her husband Jerry to join her.

“The Corson’s are a great example of the passion people have for our mission at Ozarks Food Harvest,” said Alexa Poindexter, Full Circle Gardens Manager at Ozarks Food Harvest “We’re grateful to have volunteers who give their time to help families in need in southwest Missouri.”

The Jim Blackwell Golden Gleaners Award is given annually to a volunteer who has shown outstanding contribution to Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens program, which includes the Ozarks Food Harvest home garden.

The Ozarks Food Harvest home garden has 76 raised beds, two high tunnels and an in-ground field patch that allows them to grow produce year-round to help families facing hunger. With the help of volunteers, The Food Bank is able to raise and harvest 11,000 pounds a year from this single garden.

Ozarks Food Harvest currently needs volunteers to help glean produce from local farmers and help maintain its home garden in Rogersville.

Those interested in volunteering can apply and schedule sessions online at ozarksfoodharvest.org/volunteer. All sessions must be pre-scheduled and closed-toe shoes are required. For volunteer program questions, contact volunteer recruitment coordinator Dillon Smith at (417) 865-3411.

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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 hunger-relief organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank provides 22 million meals annually to more than 261,000 unduplicated individuals. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.