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One in 5 children across the Ozarks face hunger, especially during the summer months

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Ozarks Food Harvest launched their Summer Harvest campaign, presented by Missouri Eye Institute, this week to help raise awareness and 40,000 meals for child hunger in southwest Missouri.

The Summer Harvest campaign brings attention to the increase in child hunger when students lose access to free and reduced-price meals from their schools for up to 90 days during summer break. Nearly 70 percent of children served by Ozarks Food Harvest receive free or reduced-price school meals.

“During the summer, children shouldn’t have to worry about where their next meal will come from,” said Bart Brown, president/CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest. “Our Summer Harvest campaign encourages folks to get involved to help kids get through the summer healthy and nourished.”

In The Food Bank’s service area, 1 in 5 children faces hunger. Ozarks Food Harvest works to solve child hunger over the summer through its Summer Food program which provides nearly 49,000 meals each year. The Food Bank also utilizes its Mobile Food Pantry program and network of 270 hunger-relief partners to reach 50,000 individuals each month.

The Food Bank has several ways for the community to get involved in their Summer Harvest campaign that runs through September 5. Participants can find more information about the campaign at mightycause.com/event/Summerharvest.

• Taste of SoMo with the Downtown Springfield Association is June 25. Participants can sample southwest Missouri restaurants while Ozarks Food Harvest receives a portion of the proceeds.
•  Lucas Oil Speedway Food Drive is July 23. Donors will receive one free ticket to the races in Wheatland for every four nonperishable food items donated.
• Splash and Sizzle is May 27 – Sept. 2. Participants get free admission to Springfield-Greene County Park Board pools by bringing one canned food donation per person.
• Donate and triple your impact thanks to a 2-for-1 match from KPM CPAs & Advisors at mightycause.com/event/Summerharvest.
• Volunteer with Ozarks Food Harvest at ozarksfoodharvest.org/how-to-help/volunteer.

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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.