Statement from Bart Brown, president/CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest
Dear friends of The Food Bank,
The budget proposal released this week by The White House would drastically reduce the much-needed government support many of our neighbors here in the Ozarks, and across the country, depend on to have enough to eat.
On a sunny afternoon, dozens of kids buzzing with excitement pour out of a school bus into the Boys and Girls Club Musgrave Unit. Many of them head into the cafeteria to grab a snack.
Protein-rich food is one of the most requested items from Ozarks Food Harvest’s member pantries.
That’s why Ozarks Food Harvest is excited to partner with two generous egg donors this spring, Opal Foods and Vital Farms.
Nearly 60 area grocery stores partnered with Ozarks Food Harvest for Check Out Hunger 2016, raising $45,482 to provide nearly 182,000 meals to people in need across southwest Missouri.
Ozarks Food Harvest is partnering with Panera Bread for Empty Bowls 2017. The annual event, set for Sept. 29, raises awareness of hunger in southwest Missouri.
For a donation to OFH, event-goers receive soup, a baguette and art to take home. The creations, ranging from pottery to carved wood, are meant to serve as a reminder of the thousands of “empty bowls” found on dinner tables across the Ozarks each night.
Here at The Food Bank, we make an effort to provide different volunteer opportunities at times that will fit nearly any schedule.
Have you heard of the great opportunity for those who are over age 70 1/2? You are able to make tax-free charitable gifts from your IRA to fulfill your minimum distribution requirement!
IRA tax-free charitable contributions have been a temporary feature of IRAs since 2006, but they have become permanent thanks to a 2015 appropriations bill. Now is a great time to take advantage of this opportunity to avoid being taxed on the minimum distribution requirement placed on those ages 70 1/2 and older.
Greetings from the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief!
Each year, Americans throw away billions of pounds of food. Up to 40 percent of all food grown, processed and transported in the U.S. will never be consumed.
With one in four people in the Ozarks accessing food assistance, it’s hard to understand how so many people can be hungry, yet so much perfectly edible food is never ending up on dinner plates.
Husband and wife duo Cindy and Mike McKnelly bring energy to Ozarks Food Harvest when they volunteer. Although the Tuesday night volunteer session begins at 6 p.m., their positive and joyful spirits would lead onlookers to believe that their day was just beginning.
Arvest Bank is continuing its tradition of rallying the community to help its hungry neighbors in southwest Missouri through its annual campaign, 1 Million Meals.