News

Throughout the ongoing government shutdown, Ozarks Food Harvest is maximizing its efforts to ensure that affected federal employees—and the other 31,000 people we serve each week—continue to get the food they need to put a meal on the table at the end of the day.

For the past several weeks, Ozarks Food Harvest has had a food pantry set up specifically for federal employees. The pantry, which is located inside Ozarks Food Harvest’s warehouse, offers nonperishable foods, produce, frozen items and cleaning supplies. Families are invited to take what they need. Those seeking assistance must present a valid federal ID.

We are committed to distributing food to affected federal employees for as long as necessary. These families are suddenly without a paycheck by no fault of their own, and we want to give them one less thing to worry about by providing them with food.

Our pantries and other hunger relief partners are currently doing as much as they can to provide for children, families and seniors across our 28-county service area—and we simply cannot ask them to distribute more. This temporary pantry allows us to help lighten their loads and guarantee there is enough food for these struggling families.

Under normal conditions, the federal government provides federal commodities for Ozarks Food Harvest. We then store and distribute this food to our pantries and are reimbursed for these services for about $20,000 to $25,000 each month. However, The Food Bank has not been paid for these resources since November, and we do not expect to get this money back.

We need your help so that we can continue providing food for these neighbors. Each dollar you donate will help provide $10 worth of food and services. Your compassion and care for the community will truly make a difference during this challenging time. Thank you for helping us Transform Hunger into Hope!

Visit ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate to make an online donation.