Media

WHAT:  Delivery of approximately seven pallets of donated frozen Smart Chicken®

WHERE:  Ozarks Food Harvest, O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief, 2810 N. Cedarbrook Ave., Springfield, Mo.

WHEN:  Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo.— Smart Chicken will donate 6,500 pounds of frozen chicken to Ozarks Food Harvest next Tuesday at 10:00 a.m.

This is the eighth consecutive year Smart Chicken held the Feed the Hungry promotion, donating one pound of chicken to The Food Bank for every ten pounds of products purchased at local grocers. In addition to Smart Chicken’s donation to Ozarks Food Harvest, the company will also be making donations to the Kansas Food Bank and the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank, totaling approximately 22,900 pounds of donated product.

“We are so fortunate for our continued partnership with Smart Chicken,” said Bart Brown, president/CEO at Ozarks Food Harvest. “This donation of chicken really comes at an ideal time. Missouri was just ranked seventh in the nation for overall food insecurity, which means far too many of our Ozarks neighbors have an uncertain availability of food. Nobody should have an empty plate on Christmas — or ever. Thanks to Smart Chicken, we’ll be able to provide thousands of nutritious, protein-rich meals to families in need — many are just finding themselves in the position to ask for help for the very first time.”

Last year, the donation provided meals for more than 5,300 individuals in need across southwest Missouri. Ozarks Food Harvest and its network of more than 300 nonprofit members serve more than 14,000 people weekly across 28 Ozarks counties.

Smart Chicken is produced by local growers from Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. Smart Chicken birds are fed an all natural diet without antibiotics, hormones, steroids or artificial ingredients. Smart Chicken is dedicated to producing the safest, highest quality fresh chicken found anywhere while demonstrating care for the environment.

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About Ozarks Food Harvest—The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the only food bank in southwest Missouri, serving more than 300 hunger relief organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank reaches more than 14,000 individuals weekly and distributes nine million pounds of food annually—made possible due to its Network of charities and direct-relief programs such as the Weekend Backpack Program™, Kids Cafe® and the Mobile Food Pantry™ program. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org and at facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest.