Ozarks Food Harvest honors volunteer Mary Keidle for contribution to garden programs
SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Ozarks Food Harvest recently honored volunteer Mary Keidle with the fourth annual Golden Gleaners Award for contributing more than 350 hours of service with Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens Glean Team and at The Food Bank’s warehouse.
Mary has volunteered with The Food Bank’s Glean Team since 2015. She helps pull weeds, prep garden beds and harvest produce from Ozarks Food Harvest’s farm and partner farms to be distributed to The Food Bank’s network of faith and community-based charities.
“I want to help people live better lives and help make the world a better place one tiny step at a time,” said Mary Keidle, volunteer at Ozarks Food Harvest. “I have been blessed and want to give back.”
The Golden Gleaners Award is given annually to a volunteer who has shown outstanding contribution to Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens program.
“Mary goes above and beyond to help with special projects and events like our Garden-to-Go Kits and annual plant distribution,” said Cady Wolf, Full Circle Gardens operations manager at Ozarks Food Harvest. “The whole team is deeply grateful for her dedication to helping feed our neighbors and inspiring others to garden. We all cherish the time we get to spend telling corny jokes and laughing together in the field each week.”
Ozarks Food Harvest currently needs volunteers for the Glean Team to help harvest produce at The Food Bank’s farm in Rogersville and at local partner farms.
Those interested in volunteering can apply and schedule sessions online at ozarksfoodharvest.org/volunteer. All sessions must be pre-scheduled and closed-toed 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 faith-based and community charities across a third of Missouri. The Food Bank reaches 70,000 individuals monthly and provides more than 20 million meals annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or instagram.com/ozarksfoodharvest.