Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 270 community and faith-based charities across a third of the state. With the mission of Transforming Hunger into Hope, Ozarks Food Harvest provides 23 million meals annually. This is especially important as 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults face hunger in southwest Missouri. Ozarks Food Harvest was founded in 1983 and grew to include a variety of direct-service programs aimed at reaching all those who face food insecurity. These programs now include the Weekend Backpack Program, Mobile Food Pantry distribution, after-school feeding program, summer feeding program, senior food program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) outreach services. The Food Bank accepts, processes, warehouses and distributes food and supplies to a network of food pantries, kitchens and shelters across the following 28 counties: Barry, Barton, Cedar, Christian, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Greene, Hickory, Howell, Jasper, Laclede, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Oregon, Ozark, Polk, Pulaski, St. Clair, Shannon, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Webster and Wright. Ozarks Food Harvest works in partnership with the community to rescue good food and distribute it to our partners who make it available to neighbors in need. Much of the food is provided by retailers and local food companies who donate items that may be deemed inadequate for sale, but still safe to eat. Additional food items are purchased to supplement inventory and ensure uniformity for our direct relief programs, including the Weekend Backpack Program. Ozarks Food Harvest and its volunteers inspect every donation to ensure all food is safe and ready for distribution. The Food Bank ensures food gets to those that need it most in the most efficient and effective manner possible. A total of 96 cents of every dollar donated goes directly towards programs that feed neighbors facing hunger and every dollar donated provides enough food for 3 meals. As the largest umbrella organization providing support for charities in southwest Missouri, Ozarks Food Harvest knows that hunger is a solvable problem. For more than 40 years, Ozarks Food Harvest has provided hundreds of millions of meals to ensure no one in the community goes to bed hungry and to truly Transform Hunger into Hope.

Closing the Meal Gap in southwest Missouri, ensuring no one goes hungry.

Goal One: Provide equitable access to food and services, especially for disproportionately impacted neighbors and communities within our 28-county service area.

Goal Two: Build and cultivate community partnerships to increase network capacity.

Goal Three: Advocate for public policy that will increase access to resources for neighbors in southwest Missouri.