News

Nearly half of Missouri grade school students are enrolled in free and reduced-price lunches so they can get consistent and nutritious meals at school – that’s more than 400,000 students. But when school is out for the summer, kids lose access to those meals and families have to fill the gap.

While parents and guardians work hard to feed their children, summer is an especially challenging season for families. Not only do parents have to stretch their budgets for extra meals, they’re doing it as the price of groceries and other basic necessities remain persistently high. Add the spike in utility bills due to hotter weather and additional childcare costs, and that gap can grow too wide to bridge. We want to help children and families enjoy their summer without worrying about their next meal.

To help children access nourishing meals, Ozarks Food Harvest partners with several organizations where kids already gather, such as community centers, YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs, parks and more. We support these organizations by sourcing and delivering food that helps keep their kitchens stocked for well-rounded meals.

We also continue to deliver food to our network of 270 faith-based and community charities who are the frontlines of hunger relief, especially when they see an influx of families seeking help during the summer. For areas where there is no food pantry nearby, we distribute groceries directly to folks facing hunger through our Mobile Food Pantries.

Your support helps us source and transport food so we can keep these programs running. By giving funds, food and time to Ozarks Food Harvest, you’re helping children and families access the food they need to enjoy the summer – kids like Kylor, who got lunch from one of our partner meal sites. He said, “Thank you for the great food. It really fills me up. Yum! The food you provide is a good nutritious meal!”

Thank you for helping hardworking families access nutritious meals this summer. This is what it means to Transform Hunger into Hope.