Greetings from the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief!
Since Ozarks Food Harvest moved into its distribution center six years ago, incredible progress has been made in getting more food to people who need it most.
As Bart shared with you this summer, Ozarks Food Harvest is now distributing over 1.1 million meals every month to children, families and seniors in the Ozarks. That’s a record number of meals, and I’m proud to say that the capacity provided by the O’Reilly Center of Hunger Relief has played a big role in allowing distribution to grow.
Food Bank staff share with me that clients’ most requested items are fruits and vegetables, followed by protein items like meat and dairy — donations that require ample cooler and freezer space.
This year’s Hunger Action Month was one of the best yet. We had more outreach and fundraising events than ever before, and you really stepped up to help Ozarks Food Harvest.
Our friends at iHeartMedia did an incredible job with Hungerthon, new to 105.9 KGBX this year. It was certainly a highlight of Hunger Action Month. Over $125,000 was raised for the Weekend Backpack Program to give area children food over the weekend when school lunches aren’t available and they might otherwise go hungry. Over the four day ratio-thon, I watched Kevin and Liz put in long hours sharing with listeners exactly why it is so crucial that they donate to this program.
It’s partners like this that make raising awareness of the issue of hunger possible. At Ozarks Food Harvest, we work every day to feed people across 28 Missouri counties, and community support is imperative to be able to grow much-needed food assistance programs.
Over 500 hours of service was donated to Ozarks Food Harvest by 325 volunteers, providing 55,000 meals to children, families and seniors in need during the 23rd Annual United Way Day of Caring.
Over 20,000 pounds of food was sorted in The Food Bank’s Volunteer Center, 1,442 Senior Food boxes were assembled, almost 2,000 pounds of food and $1,103 was collected during food drives, 77 pounds of produce was gleaned from Ozarks Food Harvest’s garden and area children wrote 632 notes of encouragement to fellow students who receive weekend food bags.
This year during Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month, Ozarks Food Harvest will celebrate by holding events throughout the month of September to raise awareness of hunger issues in the Ozarks. Locally, one in six adults and one in four children are food insecure, which means they may not know where their next meal is coming from. More than 260,000 people in southwest Missouri receive food from The Food Bank every year.
Hunger Action Month is a nationwide campaign throughout September designed to mobilize the public to take action on the issue of hunger and join the movement to help end hunger for the 49 million Americans who struggle.
Check out the 30 ways in 30 days calendar below to find out all the amazing ways you can help fight hunger this September!
The Springfield Community Center, an Ozarks Food Harvest After-School Food Program site, received a generous donation of a new commercial-grade stove from a local executive chefs’ group.
Since 2010, the American Culinary Federation’s Springfield-Branson Chefs’ Association has volunteered at the Springfield Community Center to provide area children with lunch or dinner meals that are typically served at restaurants like Leong’s, Fire & Ice, Twin Oaks Country Club, Cook’s Kettle at Victory Mission, Nakato Japanese Steakhouse as well as demonstrations from food vendors, such as Sysco.
“The chefs provide more than just food and meals at the After-School Food Program,” said Calvin Allen, director of the Springfield Community Center. “They develop relationships and create bonds, providing a complete educational experience for the children.”
After Arlene Eichler retired, she was anxious to find something meaningful to fill her days.
“I get up early and exercise,” the 71-year-old shared, “but after that I thought, ‘Now what am I going to do?’”
Arlene began volunteering at Ozarks Food Harvest nearly four years ago and since then has given 657 hours of her time. She also volunteers twice a week with Well of Life, an OFH member agency.
For children in the Ozarks who are hungry, every day brings a new struggle.
Concentrating in school, finishing homework in the evenings and even playing outside with friends is not easy or fun with an empty stomach. The only meals thousands of these children can count on are breakfast and lunch at school.
When classes are dismissed on Friday afternoon, the weekend can seem awfully long to a child who doesn’t know where his or her meals will come from.
I’m thrilled to share with you that Ozarks Food Harvest has hit a new distribution goal and has served more meals than ever before! In fiscal year 2014, The Food Bank distributed 16.3 million pounds of food, providing 13.6 million meals to our neighbors in need in southwest Missouri.
The number of meals served surpassed our strategic goal by over one million meals! This is all possible because of selfless donors, like you, who give your time, food or funds to support The Food Bank.
We know that each meal provided to a hungry child, unemployed adult or disabled senior means more to them than we will ever know. Behind each meal served, there is a story. And that’s what keeps us pushing to continually increase our distribution. We met Cathy at a recent Mobile Food Pantry distribution in rural Howell County where she was both a recipient and a volunteer. She shared with us that she is so grateful for the food.
Springfield Rotary clubs hosted a Rotary Feeds the Ozarks volunteer day at Ozarks Food Harvest on June 27. Eighty-eight volunteers sorted nearly 19,000 pounds of food and assembled 591 senior food boxes. Together, this will provide 32,374 meals for children, families and seniors in the Ozarks.
As you may know, dedicated Food Bank staff, volunteers and partner agencies work to distribute nearly 262,000 meals each week to people struggling with hunger in the Ozarks. Thirty percent of those served are children.
It’s hard to imagine, but one in every four children right here in southwest Missouri do not know where their next meal will come from.
I’m writing you today to ask for your help to make sure every child has enough to eat, which is something I believe in strongly and is a big reason why I support The Food Bank.
Greetings from the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief!
