Media

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— The board of directors of the Ozarks Health Advocacy Foundation (OHAF) recently awarded Ozarks Food Harvest a $5,000 grant for the regional food bank’s Weekend Backpack Program.

Ozarks Food Harvest (OFH) provides backpacks with child‐friendly food for students to take home over the weekends, when they do not have access to free and reduced breakfasts and lunches at school, or evening meals and snacks at afterschool feeding programs.

“We are grateful for local foundations’ support to help sustain this crucial program in area schools,” said OFH Development Director Denise Gibson. “It truly breaks our heart when we hear participating children say it helps them from being hungry since there isn’t any food at home. That’s why this funding from OHAF is so important to our community.”

The OHAF grant to Ozarks Food Harvest will provide 24 children with backpacks full of food items for every weekend of one school semester.

The Food Bank’s Weekend Backpack Program begins Friday, Sept. 2, in 30 area schools, including 13 in Springfield.

Individuals can sponsor a backpack for a child in need for $300 annually or $150 per semester. Donations can be made securely online at ozarksfoodharvest.org. Corporate sponsorships are also available.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest—The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America® food bank for southwest Missouri, serving more than 300 hunger relief organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank reaches 20,000 individuals weekly and distributes one million pounds of food monthly. OFH was named the 2011 Small Business of the Year by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org and at facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest.