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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Ozarks Food Harvest held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Food Bank Farm in Rogersville Tuesday morning to celebrate its 78 new raised garden beds, remote-controlled irrigation system and upgraded produce transport van.

A nearly $200,000 grant from the Jeanette L. Musgrave Foundation, in partnership with Community Foundation of the Ozarks, is helping fund Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens program to grow and distribute more fresh produce for families facing hunger. This is the largest grant ever awarded to The Food Bank’s Full Circle Gardens program.

The new garden beds and irrigation system reduce pest habitats, improve volunteer and visitor safety and provide more produce for its network of charities. Grant funds were also used to purchase a new 1-ton capacity cargo van that will double the amount of fresh produce and garden equipment Ozarks Food Harvest can transport across its 28-county service area.

“We’re so grateful to the Jeanette L. Musgrave Foundation for helping us make all these Food Bank Farm upgrades to better serve families facing hunger in the Ozarks,” said Alexa Poindexter, director of Full Circle Gardens at Ozarks Food Harvest. “To be able to grow and distribute fresh produce locally to our neighbors is so special, and we can’t say thank you enough.”

This grant was part of the Musgrave Foundation’s “Opportunities to Thrive” program. In Ozarks Food Harvest’s service area, 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults face hunger. The Food Bank Farm grows more than 14,500 pounds of fresh produce annually to help provide meals for families facing hunger.

Anyone interested in volunteering at The Food Bank Farm or warehouse 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 over 70,000 individuals monthly and provides more than 21 million meals annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or instagram.com/ozarksfoodharvest.