News

According to Feeding America’s latest Map the Meal Gap study, hunger across our 28-county service area has increased from 1 in 7 children and adults to 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults. That’s a dramatic shift in just one year.

This dramatic increase in hunger is because the new study reflects hunger data from 2022, which is after Missouri’s COVID state of emergency expired. When that happened, federal nutrition program flexibilities went away and families have continued to face increased hardship ever since.

As you’ve read in Charlie’s article, federal nutrition programs significantly affect Ozarks Food Harvest’s meal distribution and hunger rates in southwest Missouri. After nutrition program flexibilities ended, our Food Bank received nearly 2.5 million pounds less food from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) in 2022. Also, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients experienced a dramatic drop in benefits as they were just recovering from the worst effects of the pandemic.

As a result, our food insecurity rates increased and we’re still seeing those effects today. The demand for food in southwest Missouri has now exceeded what it was during the pandemic. We’re serving an average of 70,000 individuals each month—20,000 more than during the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

To solve the issue of hunger, we need more food and resources invested into our community from public and private partnership. That’s why a strong Farm Bill and a well-supported Food Bank are so important for Missouri. Working together, they serve as the backbone of hunger relief across our third of the state.

Ozarks Food Harvest plays a critical role as the safety net for the safety net. Nearly half of individuals facing hunger don’t quality for SNAP or other nutrition program benefits. With these programs out of reach, many families may have nowhere to turn to help fill the gap when times are tough. Our job is to help families facing hunger make ends meet, especially folks living paycheck to paycheck that need just a bit of help at the end of the month to put food on the table. But we can’t do it alone.

With your help and support, we can make a difference in the lives of folks in the Ozarks. If you can, please donate to help families in need during this difficult time. If you’re already giving, please consider another gift. Together, we can end hunger in southwest Missouri.