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For those who meet Cindy McDonough, she’s hard to forget. Her outgoing personality and infectious humor are evident during the volunteer sessions she attends, and it’s clear she’s not afraid to work hard to help her community. The proof is in the number of hours she’s volunteered with Ozarks Food Harvest. As of now, Cindy has given nearly 1,500 hours of her time since 2019. In 2022, she served more time than any other volunteer, with 494 hours in just one year!

From the age of 17, Cindy worked full-time in the insurance industry, rarely taking time off from work in her 45-year career. Now retired, Cindy brings that same non-stop attitude to volunteering at Ozarks Food Harvest, along with an enthusiasm for socializing and giving back.

“When you worked all your life, you miss work,” says Cindy, “I think working is essential, I just don’t work for pay anymore. You’re freer when you choose to do it.”

Cindy always had a goal to volunteer more after she retired, believing in “balancing the scales” of her fortunate life by giving back to the community. She’s drawn to hunger-relief because food is not optional. “It’s not a question of whether you should eat; you have to,” she says.

Cindy believes one solution to minimizing hunger is to get people involved. For Cindy, volunteering has become a part of her lifestyle. She enjoys that her time at Ozarks Food Harvest keeps her active and social while serving her community. Now, she wants to encourage young people to get involved, too, “We have to foster our youth into volunteering,” she explains, “We can’t age volunteerism out of society. Volunteers are important because somebody has to do it.”

She’s right. We couldn’t have provided 20 million meals in 2022 without the help of our generous volunteers. Ozarks Food Harvest is committed to making sure neighbors have food, because food is crucial. It’s not only sustenance; it’s hope. If you want to be a part of Transforming Hunger into Hope, visit https://ozarksfoodharvest.org/how-to-help/ to learn more.