Cali Pettijohn has a fascinating job. Since 2008, she’s been immersing students from other countries in the American experience and teaching them English. She works for Missouri State University’s English Language Institute, and her students recently volunteered with Ozarks Food Harvest.
Kum & Go and Ozarks Food Harvest are partnering for a new food rescue program that began this fall. As the newest Retail Pick-Up partner, Kum & Go donates safe, prepared excess food to Ozarks Food Harvest’s partner agencies.
Items donated include breakfast sandwiches, hot and cold lunch sandwiches, salad and produce, fresh packaged bread and bakery items.
“As we continue to look for ways to reduce waste, help our communities and tackle hunger close to home, we are excited to get the program up and running,” said Derek Nelson, sustainability manager for Kum & Go.
It is no secret that eggs are a nutritional source of protein.
However, sources of protein continue to remain on Ozarks Food Harvest’s list of most-needed items. For people with allergies, a jar of peanut butter is not an option and meat is not always available.
Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens Program has provided thousands of pounds of harvested produce from local gardens to families in need so far this season!
Before Calvary Chapel secured a new building for its food pantry, it was common to see people from nearly 300 households waiting in line outside the church to receive commodities.
The church located in Buffalo, Missouri, began its food pantry in 2011 with the expectation of serving 100 to 150 households at each monthly distribution. Within the first few months of operation, Calvary Chapel saw those numbers climb drastically.
More than 250 people give blood in the Ozarks daily, and while every donation helps someone in need, a new program from the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks allows blood donors to make an even greater impact.
LifePoints Lift awards points to people every time they give blood. Those points, which have a cash value, can then be donated to one of ten LifePoints Lift partner agencies, including Ozarks Food Harvest.
The seventh annual McDonald’s Cans for Coffee drive collected 45,000 pounds of food — the most ever raised by McDonald’s of the Ozarks. The food drive hadn’t brought in more than 36,000 pounds since 2011, and it surpassed this year’s goal of 30,000 pounds, the equivalent of 25,000 meals.