Imagine you’re an older person standing in line at your local pharmacy for your heart medication. The pharmacist rings up your total, and you suddenly realize you don’t have enough money to pay for your prescription and the groceries you were going to grab for dinner on your way home. How do you choose?
Over the past 15 years, perishable products have grown to make up almost two-thirds of the food Ozarks Food Harvest distributes annually. These include foods like dairy, fresh and frozen produce, meat, non-meat protein items like eggs and beans, and other foods that are fresh or refrigerated. Fresh fruits and vegetables alone now account for 20% of the food we provide for our neighbors facing hunger.
Six-year-old Harley lives with her grandparents full-time while her parents figure out a stable place to live. Together, she and her grandparents color, make bead bracelets and play in the yard when the weather is nice. Harley’s grandmother Glenda says they love having Harley around, but raising – and feeding – a grandchild during retirement comes with challenges.
Congress was unable to pass legislation that would continue to fund the government beyond October 1. Without funding, a government shutdown has begun. Below, we break down what’s happening, how Ozarks Food Harvest is responding and how you can get help if needed.
Access to nutritious and healthy food changes lives.
Kaela Anderson, Regional Lead and Administrator at Ozark County Senior Center, received an email a few years ago introducing her to a gentleman on hospice that had been approved for home delivered meals. He was on oxygen 24/7, and had decreased mobility that prevented him from walking even short distances without having to stop. In addition, he wasn’t getting proper nutrition, which left him underweight.
The 27th annual Hungerthon hosted by Ozarks Food Harvest and iHeartRadio Springfield wrapped up Monday afternoon, raising a total of $253,609 for Ozarks Food Harvest’s Weekend Backpack Program. These funds will provide weekend meals for 704 kids in southwest Missouri.
In the last year, Renea has become one of The Food Bank’s most dedicated volunteers, showing up every week to sort donated food for distribution to our hunger-relief network. She started because her son, Nolan – Ozarks Food Harvest’s very own janitor – suggested Renea give her extra time at The Food Bank now that she’s retired.
In Oregon County, where food insecurity rates are higher than the southwest Missouri average, people saw that their neighbors needed help and came together to make the incredible happen.
Did you know that for every meal Ozarks Food Harvest provides, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nine? That’s the enormous impact federal nutrition programs have on our southwest Missouri community. It’s important for you to know this because Congress is revisiting the Farm Bill this fall, the legislation that funds nutrition programs like SNAP, and their decision will help determine if families can continue to put food on the table.
Ozarks Food Harvest will lose an estimated $3 million worth of food this year due to recent USDA cuts to The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). A third of the cancelled orders were protein items like beef, chicken, eggs and pork, which are often the most expensive for us to purchase.