Ozarks Food Harvest invests $800,000 to feed families during record-long shutdown
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Ozarks Food Harvest is responding to the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history with an $800,000 investment to help feed families, federal employees and people utilizing their network of 270 charities in southwest Missouri.
The Food Bank has purchased $500,000 in additional food, released $300,000 in grants to its network of charities and hosted drive-thru grocery giveaways for federal employees impacted by the shutdown. The grocery giveaways have provided for more than 1,200 people so far.
“We’re treating this shutdown like a disaster, and we will provide support as long as it’s needed,” said Bart Brown, president and CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest. “We want to ensure families don’t have to worry about putting food on the table during this crisis.”
In The Food Bank’s 28-county service area, nearly 23,000 federal employees and 135,000 SNAP recipients may be affected by the government shutdown.
To meet the increased demand for food, Ozarks Food Harvest is asking for community support. Thanks to a $40,000 matching gift from Community Foundation of the Ozarks, the Darr Family Foundation and the Musgrave Foundation, every $1 donated will provide $20 worth of groceries until the match is met at ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate-federal-shutdown.
The Food Bank is hosting two additional free drive-thru grocery distributions for federal employees on November 8 and November 10 at the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief, 2810 N. Cedarbrook Ave. Attendees must pre-register at ozarksfoodharvest.org/need-help and present federal identification at the event.
Anyone in need of food assistance can find local pantries and more at ozarksfoodharvest.org/need-help.
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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 21 million meals annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or instagram.com/ozarksfoodharvest.