Media

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— MBA Brand Smart Chicken donated 8,000 pounds of frozen chicken to Ozarks Food Harvest on Wednesday morning.

This is the sixth year in a row that the chicken company held its Feed the Hungry promotion, where it donates one pound of food to The Food Bank for every 10 pounds of its product purchased at local grocery stores.

This donation added to the record amount of food coming into The Food Bank in the past few months.  In November, Ozarks Food Harvest received more than 700,000 pounds of food for the first time in its 25 year history.  So far this month, more than 500,000 pounds of food has been received.

And, the record pace of donations has been accompanied by a drastic increase in need.  The Food Bank shipped out more than 550,000 pounds last month and has already distributed about 450,000 pounds in November.  These numbers can be compared to a monthly average of about 400,000 pounds last year.

“The importance of this donation goes beyond the poundage of food involved since protein products are the most needed food category for The Food Bank,” says Denise Gibson, Director of Development with Ozarks Food Harvest.  “And, as a staple to most diets, it’s important to provide these products to the people in need throughout southwest Missouri.  However, large amounts of meat products rarely become available.”

# # #

To learn more, contact Lindsey Neddenriep at (417) 865-3411.