Springfield Rotary clubs hosted a Rotary Feeds the Ozarks volunteer day at Ozarks Food Harvest on June 27. Eighty-eight volunteers sorted nearly 19,000 pounds of food and assembled 591 senior food boxes. Together, this will provide 32,374 meals for children, families and seniors in the Ozarks.
Five Pound Apparel began a new partnership with Ozarks Food Harvest this year. For every T-shirt sold, the local retailer will provide a donation for Ozarks Food Harvest to purchase just over five pounds of food.
To date, over 1,706 shirts have been sold, equating to 9,383 pounds of food that OFH provided to children, families and seniors in the Ozarks. This is not the first time the local retailer has raised funds for The Food Bank, but this new initiative will provide year-round support for those in need.
During most of the week, the Girls Room at Crimson House is filled with chairs, tables and … girls. But twice a month, when the church hosts its C-Street Connect food pantry, it is filled with fresh food and volunteers.
Used as the cold food distribution center on pantry days, the room had been dark and dreary with insufficient lighting. Thanks to Keller Williams Real Estate, Crimson House was selected to benefit from its annual Red Day program. The room has been transformed with bright pink walls, uplifting messages and plenty of light.
When there isn’t enough money for groceries to last to the end of the month, struggling families often turn to less expensive, unhealthy food options.
For Pamela and her family, fresh fruit and vegetables are always the first things to go when money is tight.
“I just can’t afford it,” she shared at a recent Ozarks Food Harvest Mobile Food Pantry distribution in Springfield. “It’s hard on everyone.”
Five Pound Apparel and Ozarks Food Harvest began a new partnership this week, both online at 5poundapparel.com and in stores.
For every T-shirt sold, 5 Pound Apparel will provide a donation to Ozarks Food Harvest to purchase five pounds of food. Children, families and seniors struggling with hunger across southwest Missouri will benefit from the partnership. This is not the first time the local retailer has raised funds for Ozarks Food Harvest, but this new initiative will provide year-round support for those in need.
Arvest Bank collected nonperishable food items and monetary gifts for Ozarks Food Harvest during its fourth annual bank-wide 1 Million Meals campaign during September and November.
Banks in the Springfield and Nixa area collected 1,434 pounds of food and $4,484, while the Joplin-area banks donated 1,825 pounds and $8,565. This adds up to more than 68,000 meals.
Thirty-nine schools and 24 community partners battled in Ozarks Food Harvest’s fourth-annual school food drive competition, Food Fight, collecting 39,450 pounds of donations, or 32,875 meals — the most ever raised for this food drive.
Ozarks Food Harvest partnered with Panera Bread and local artists to raise $1,500 at last month’s Empty Bowls event.
This was the first time since 2003 OFH hosted the event, which offered a basic meal of soup and bread from Panera in exchange for cash donations.