Record Hungerthon raises $140K for kids
Ozarks Food Harvest and iHeartMedia’s 18th annual radio-thon, Hungerthon, collected a record-breaking $140,447 for the Weekend Backpack Program. The initiative provides 1,668 food insecure children with nutritious food to take home over the weekends, when school meals aren’t available and many kids go hungry.
Kevin Howard and Liz Delany from 105.9 KGBX spent four days hosting Hungerthon this September. This year’s goal of $125,000 was exceeded, raising $140,447 to provide 468 at-risk children in the Ozarks with six child-friendly meals each weekend of the school year through the Weekend Backpack Program.
“It’s a great day when we have a record-breaking year for feeding hungry kids. This year’s Hungerthon has been just incredible,” said Bart Brown, Ozarks Food Harvest’s president/CEO. “Thanks so much to the generous listeners of KGBX.”
Backpacks were matched by community businesses and foundations including Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc., Coldwell Bankers, Vanguard Relators, CoxHealth, Feeding Missouri, Harter House, Heart of America Beverage Co., Hiland Dairy Foods, MassMutual, The Musgrave Foundation, Peck’s Insurance & Financial Services, Properties of Distinction, Inc., Taylor Communications and Yahweh’s Place at Cedarville.
Sixty southwest Missouri schools participate in the Weekend Backpack Program, which distributes nearly 60,000 backpacks annually. Those bags include meals for two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, two snacks and drinks. Since 1999, the community has donated $1.67 million through Hungerthon.
Those who want to support the program can donate at ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate.