“The Weekend Backpack Program really, really helps little children, and it helps the grandparents that are trying to raise them.”
– Glenda, grandparent of a Weekend Backpack child
Six-year-old Harley lives with her grandparents full-time while her parents figure out a stable place to live. Together, she and her grandparents color, make bead bracelets and play in the yard when the weather is nice. Harley’s grandmother Glenda says they love having Harley around, but raising – and feeding – a grandchild during retirement comes with challenges.
Living on their limited Social Security and retirement funds, Glenda and her husband can’t always keep up with the cost of groceries and rely on free school lunches to feed Harley during the week. It helps, but budgeting for groceries outside of school is still a challenge, especially now that the cost of an average meal is 12% higher than just three years ago. The price of groceries is a top reason food insecurity rates are the highest they’ve been in a decade, and Glenda’s family is feeling the strain.
“Me and my husband are on a set income,” Glenda shared. “I of course got Harley on free lunches when I got her started in school, because we can’t afford it [otherwise].”
Fortunately, Harley’s school participates in Ozarks Food Harvest’s Weekend Backpack Program, which sends kids home with nutritious, child-friendly meals and snacks
every weekend of the school year. That means every Friday, Harley brings home a bag of food items like cereal, shelf-stable milk, fruit and vegetable cups, chicken salad and more to keep her fueled all weekend long.
“The program really, really helps little children,” said Glenda, “and it helps the grandparents that are trying to raise them. Without it, the child would be doing without some of the healthy food.”
Harley needs those healthy meals to stay creative and hone her affinity for reading and math – subjects that Glenda has noticed Harley excels at. As she grows, it’s crucial for Harley’s physical, mental and emotional development that she gets the quantity and quality of nutrients she needs.
The weekly food bags help Harley’s grandparents, too. Knowing Harley has plenty of good food from the Weekend Backpack Program, Glenda and her husband can afford nourishing meals for themselves as well.
Schools and hunger-relief charities across our network report seeing many grandparents partially or entirely raising their grandchildren. While every family’s story is different, we do know that older adults in southwest Missouri who have grandkids in the home are twice as likely to experience food insecurity. By
supporting the Weekend Backpack Program, our community is helping not only children, but selfless guardians like Glenda, too.
This September was Ozarks Food Harvest’s annual Hunger Action Month campaign. Every year, funds raised from Hunger Action Month events and community partnerships go directly to the Weekend Backpack Program. The Food Bank dedicates an entire month to this fundraiser because the Weekend Backpack Program is critical to student success in 59 schools across the Ozarks – and it’s completely funded by the generosity of our community.
Glenda and her husband have opened their home to Harley so that she has a safe, stable place to grow up. Thanks to everyone who supports the Weekend Backpack Program, Harley and her family can also feel safe knowing she has the nutritious meals she needs to grow, learn and follow her passions.
If you missed Hunger Action Month, you can still support the Weekend Backpack Program both financially and through volunteering. Learn how to get involved at ozarksfoodharvest.org/how-to-help.
Over the past 15 years, perishable products have grown to make up almost two-thirds of the food Ozarks Food Harvest distributes annually. These include foods like dairy, fresh and frozen produce, meat, non-meat protein items like eggs and beans, and other foods that are fresh or refrigerated. Fresh fruits and vegetables alone now account for 20% of the food we provide for our neighbors facing hunger.
There’s a common misconception that food banks only distribute canned, low-quality food. Our mission is about more than providing food to just survive – we want every neighbor to have the meals they need to thrive. That involves helping families access a variety of healthy options that they enjoy, even when times are tough.
Being able to provide these options means families who visit our partner pantries have access to the same foods they would find at a grocery store, because our neighbors shouldn’t have to sacrifice quality or health when they need help putting meals on the table.
Our expansion of fresh food is due to initiatives like our Retail Pick-Up and Full Circle Gardens programs that rescue food and divert it to our
neighbors in need rather than the landfill. The Full Circle Gardens program also grows about 15,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables each year at our Food Bank Farm for distribution to our network.
Federal nutrition programs like The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) contribute to the increase as well by buying produce, dairy, meat and more from American farmers and distributing it to food banks to help working families bridge the gap.
Thanks to generous donors like you, Ozarks Food Harvest is also able to buy more fresh food, maintain our refrigerated trucks and support our partner charities with cold storage equipment to keep it all fresh.
With your support, we’re helping our neighbors keep wholesome, nutritious meals on the table, even when budgets are tight. You can keep making an impact by donating funds, time and fresh produce to The Food Bank. Give now at ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate.
27TH ANNUAL HUNGERTHON RAISES $253,609 FOR CHILDREN FACING HUNGER
The 27th annual Hungerthon was incredibly successful, raising $253,609 which will provide 705 school children with nutritious food they can take home every weekend of the school year. From September 5-8, Ozarks Food Harvest and iHeartRadio Springfield partnered with the community to hold one of our largest annual fundraisers for the Weekend Backpack Program
Listeners tuned into Alice 95.5, US97, 100.5 The Wolf, and 105.9 KGBX to raise funds for the program. Donations were generously made to The Food Bank by phone, in person and online.
Local businesses, foundations and individuals generously matched listeners’ contributions, including A-1 Guarantee Roofing, Arvest Bank, Associated Electric Coop. Inc., CoxHealth, Fireworks Supermarket, French’s, Great Southern Bank, Harter House - Hollister, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 453, McDonald’s, Mid-Missouri Bank, Positronic, Pyramid Battery, Ross Construction Group, SRC Community Relations Committee, Stomp the Blues out of Homelessness, Vital Farms and Yahweh’s Place.
The Weekend Backpack Program has been providing assistance to children facing hunger for over 20 years. In 2003, the Weekend Backpack Program was created with the intention of providing weekend meals for children in a rural community. Once word of the program spread, other rural schools, as well as Springfield schools, began asking for assistance. Realizing the need was much greater than anticipated, Ozarks Food Harvest swiftly increased fundraising efforts, and the Weekend Backpack Program has been a staple for children in southwest Missouri ever since. The program now serves almost 1,700 children each week across almost 60 schools in southwest Missouri.
Ozarks Food Harvest is grateful for each individual, foundation, and business that helped make this year’s Hungerthon a success. If you’d like to help support the Weekend Backpack Program all year long, donate at ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate and select “Weekend Backpack Program” from the dropdown menu.
October through December
Help end hunger while you shop for the holidays! Local and national businesses will be running special promotions this season to help provide meals for our neighbors facing hunger. Keep an eye out for opportunities to support The Food Bank with your purchases. You can see a full list of participating community partners at ozarksfoodharvest.org/ community-partnerships.
BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL WILL LEAVE THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES FACING HUNGER IN MISSOURI
Imagine you’re an older person standing in line at your local pharmacy for your heart medication. The pharmacist rings up your total, and you suddenly realize you don’t have enough money to pay for your prescription and the groceries you were going to grab for dinner on your way home. How do you choose?
Choices like that will be a reality for thousands of families across the Ozarks once the Big Beautiful Bill takes effect. Passed by Congress in July, the new law calls for a cut of $186 billion nationwide to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next 10 years. SNAP is one of the nation’s most important programs because it helps working families, seniors and people with disabilities afford food when budgets are tight. For the first time in the modern history of SNAP, the federal government will not ensure that the lowestincome people in every state have access to the food they need.
With 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults already facing hunger in southwest Missouri, this law comes at a devastating time. The cuts primarily come from a harmful cost-sharing plan that shifts SNAP costs to individual states without providing the resources needed to manage that burden. Specifically, Missouri will have to pay up to 15% of SNAP costs starting in late 2028. That may not sound like much, but it adds up to an estimated $225 million in state tax dollars, or 84 million meals, every year. Even Ozarks Food Harvest’s efficient distribution network
can’t bridge a gap this big. For every meal a food bank like Ozarks Food Harvest provides, SNAP provides nine.
If Missouri can’t make up for these massive federal cuts with tax increases or spending reductions elsewhere in its budget, it will have to cut its SNAP program. They could do this by restricting eligibility-– making it harder for people to enroll – or by opting out of SNAP altogether in our state. More people will go hungry, and they won’t have anywhere to turn. This is why it’s important to give to Ozarks Food Harvest all-year long. As the need rises, The Food Bank will continue to show up for our community, but meeting this challenge requires all of us. I’m calling on our partners, lawmakers, businesses, faith communities and supporters to stand with us and alongside people facing hunger.
need your help to get more food on shelves, more meals into homes and more support into the hands of people who need it most.
Please scan the QR code below to donate and help a Missouri family put a meal on the table this week.
CHECK OUT HUNGER
November 1 to December 31
You can help provide meals for our neighbors while you shop for groceries. Support Ozarks Food Harvest this November and December by adding a $1, $3 or $5 tax-free donation to your grocery bill at local grocery stores. A list of participating grocers will be available later this month at ozarksfoodharvest.org/events.
TURKEY TROT
November 27
Join us on Thanksgiving Day for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board’s 31st annual Turkey Trot 5K in downtown Springfield! Remember to bring seven nonperishable food items to donate to Ozarks Food Harvest’s food drive. Register today at parkboard.org/624/31st-AnnualTurkey-Trot.
GIVING TUESDAY
December 2
After finding great deals and perfect gifts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, take a moment to give back during Giving Tuesday. On this global day of giving, you can join the movement to end hunger by donating to Ozarks Food Harvest. Every $1 you give will provide 3 meals for a family in need. Encourage your friends and family to join the movement by sharing our #GivingTuesday social media posts.
Over the last year, Ozarks Food Harvest provided 23 million meals through our network of faith-based and community charities across southwest Missouri.
Thanks to supporters like you, from July 2024 to June 2025, we:
• served 70,000 children, families and seniors each month;
• distributed nearly 690,000 meals throughout southwest Missouri via Mobile Food Pantries to help feed our neighbors facing hunger in rural communities;
• distributed more than 26 million pounds of food, including 16 million pounds of fresh, perishable foods like eggs, meat, fruits and vegetables;
• rescued 8.2 million pounds of edible food from being sent to the landfill through our Retail Pick-up Program;
• awarded nearly $264,000 in grants to our network to help sustain and expand hungerrelief efforts across southwest Missouri. Despite these successes, families in southwest Missouri are still facing hunger, especially with rising childcare, housing and food costs.
According to Feeding America’s most recent Map the Meal Gap study, 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults experience food insecurity in Ozarks Food Harvest’s service area.
That means we still have work to do. It’s a responsibility that falls to Ozarks Food Harvest as we supply 7 out of every 10 meals distributed by our network of hunger-relief charities spread across a 28-county service area.
As the demand for food increases across the Ozarks, we will continue to invest in our community’s food system so that children, families and seniors know where they’ll get their next meal. These investments include:
• Distribute nearly 25 million meals to our hunger-relief network of 270 faith-based and community partner charities.
• Rescue 600 semi-truck loads from being wasted annually through our Retail Pickup Program. In addition to aiding with hunger-relief efforts, these efforts will save the City of Springfield around $320,000 in landfill costs.
• Distribute more than 900,000 meals to neighbors facing hunger through our Mobile Food Pantries.
• Provide more than 60,000 backpacks full of nutritious food through our Weekend Backpack Program to more than 1,600 children in nearly 60 schools across 17 counties in southwest Missouri.
We’re committed to ending hunger in our community, but we can’t do it without you.
Bart
Brown, President/CEO
Ninety-six cents of every dollar donated goes directly to feeding families, so you can trust that we’re good stewards of your gifts. Please consider a donation to Ozarks Food Harvest today to help provide meals to people facing hunger across southwest Missouri.
THE BOBBY ALLISON FUND HELPS PROVIDE MORE THAN 160,000 MEALS ACROSS
Ozarks Food Harvest received a generous $54,000 gift from The Bobby Allison Fund’s Stronger Pathways grant program to provide 162,000 meals to our neighbors facing hunger. This gift comes at a crucial time as food insecurity has reached a 10-year high, and The Food Bank is facing a funding gap of $3 million due to USDA cuts in March. With increased demand and fewer resources, this gift is critical to end hunger for our neighbors. We are grateful for partners like The Bobby Allison Fund who help serve our neighbors facing hunger each year.
PANERA SUPPORTS CHILDREN FACING HUNGER THROUGH THE WEEKEND BACKPACK PROGRAM
A $10,000 grant from Share the Dough, a Panera nonprofit organization, will provide nearly 7,000 weekend meals for children facing hunger this school year. Share the Dough seeks to transform local communities through generosity, compassion and benevolence. Thanks to the generous Share the Dough grant, 31 children in need will receive nutritious meals each weekend of the school year and return to school Monday nourished and ready to learn. Thank you, Panera, for your continued support of hunger-relief efforts across the Ozarks!
MAVERIK PROVIDES FOOD AND FUNDS TO END HUNGER IN SOUTHWEST MISSOURI
Maverik has supported Ozarks Food Harvest’s mission to Transform Hunger into Hope since 2017. In 2023, Maverik acquired popular retail chain Kum & Go. In fiscal year 2025, they donated 242,000 meals through Ozarks Food Harvest’s Retail Pick-Up Program, in addition to donations from their Register Roundup campaign. In total, Maverik has helped provide nearly 2.1 million meals for our neighbors facing hunger in southwest Missouri since 2017. Thank you, Maverik, for your valuable partnership.
WALMART’S FIGHT HUNGER. SPARK CHANGE. CAMPAIGN RAISES NEARLY $138,000 FOR THE FOOD BANK
This year, Sam’s Club and Walmart’s annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign raised nearly $138,000 for Ozarks Food Harvest. Walmart and Sam’s Club customers generously participated by purchasing participating products, donating at check-out, rounding up their purchase and donating through Feeding America’s campaign site. This campaign supports Feeding America food banks nationwide. Since 2010, The Fight Hunger. Spark Change campaign has helped provide more than 6 million meals for our neighbors in the Ozarks. The ongoing generosity and support from Sam’s Club, Walmart and their customers helps us Transform Hunger into Hope right here in southwest Missouri.
HELP PUT A HOLIDAY TURKEY ON EVERY TABLE
For many of us, the holidays mean gathering with loved ones around a warm meal. But for 1 in 6 households in the Ozarks, this season brings difficult choices: pay the heating bill or put food on the table. That means there’s a working mom who isn’t sure how she’s going to afford a meal for her children tonight – much less a holiday meal.
We can ensure our neighbors have access to holiday food, but we need your help. The Food Bank is preparing for the season by purchasing turkeys, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, vegetables, pie filling and more so families can celebrate with a warm holiday meal. Ozarks Food Harvest delivers these groceries at no extra cost to our faith-based and community partners so they can share it with neighbors in need across the Ozarks.
Your support is crucial as increased food prices are hitting households hard. Families
facing hunger now report needing $100 more each month to be food secure compared to just three years ago.
This year, we need to raise $290,000 to purchase holiday food, which includes a total of 8,700 turkeys. Just $20 puts a turkey on a family’s table. A gift of $80 provides two families with a full holiday meal.
Together, we can Transform Hunger into Hope and ensure that every table is filled with good, nutritious food. Please consider making a gift today at ozarksfoodharvest.org/donate or by scanning the QR code. Your kindness is a gift of hope for families this holiday season.
SUMMER HARVEST CAMPAIGN PROVIDES 83,000 MEALS
JOHN DEERE FOUNDATION HELPS PROVIDE 90,000 MEALS FOR LOCAL FAMILIES
A recent $30,000 grant from the John Deere Foundation, thanks to Feeding America, will provide 90,000 meals to families facing hunger across southwest Missouri. This gift will help children and families access much-needed nutrition as food insecurity has reached a 10-year high. John Deere is committed to creating longlasting, purposeful impact for the communities they serve and the families who live, work and learn with them. We’re grateful for John Deere’s support in the movement to end hunger.
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Summer Harvest campaign, presented by Paul Mueller! The community stepped up to relieve hunger by raising food and funds through Splash & Sizzle with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, donating LifePoints at Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, donating food at Lucas Oil Speedway and more. The generosity of individual donors and community partners like Pinegar Honda allowed us to provide 83,000 meals for local children facing hunger this summer. We are so grateful to our Summer Harvest partners and the community for generously supporting hunger relief in southwest Missouri.
“I have never encountered two individuals so selflessly dedicated to helping others.”
services
This year, a force for good in the Neosho community is retiring after 27 years of service, and her hard work is not going unnoticed.
Donna Wilson and her husband, Jim, have been involved with The Help Center – one of Ozarks Food Harvest’s partner charities in Neosho – since 1998. Donna became the director of The Help Center in 2002 and managed the pantry for the next 23 years, dedicating all of that time as a volunteer. It’s estimated that she has contributed at least 40,000 hours of service for neighbors facing hunger during her tenure.
If those numbers don’t prove it, anyone who knows Donna can tell you she has an unmatched work ethic and passion for helping others. To thank
her, dozens of community members gathered in June for a surprise retirement party, including Ozarks Food Harvest’s assistant director of programs & member services, Terra Baum.
In her speech, Terra shared, “I have known Donna and Jim for 16 years. [Ozarks Food Harvest] has several feeding programs across 28 counties, and by far, I have never encountered two individuals so selflessly dedicated to helping others. Their commitment to improving the lives of the most vulnerable speaks volumes to their strength and character as human beings.”
Donna’s impact was recognized at her retirement party by several community leaders and organizations including Head Start, the American
Legion Post 162, and Gospel Lighthouse Church –but there was one more surprise for Donna. She was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award.
The Senior Service Award is presented annually to Missourians aged 60 and older who exemplify the spirit of service. Nominees are selected based on their volunteerism, impact on their communities and commitment to civic engagement.
Congratulations to Donna on this well-deserved award. We are honored to have worked with her to feed more than 900,000 people in Newton County over the past two decades. As Terra told Donna, “No one deserves this more than you.”
Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens program had a record-breaking year, successfully collecting more than 85,000 pounds of food from our Food Bank Farm and partner growers in the community.
“Our Full Circle Gardens program has been incredibly successful this year. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our volunteers and partner growers for their ongoing support,” said Alexa Poindexter, director of Full Circle Gardens
The Food Bank Farm alone produced over 15,000 pounds of fresh produce with the help of our hard-working volunteers.
In addition to volunteering at The Food Bank Farm, Glean Team volunteers visited local farms and gardens to assist partner growers in
getting excess crops to people facing hunger. These efforts helped ensure our neighbors experiencing food insecurity had access to more fresh produce.
Increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables is essential to help our community thrive and plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy diet. Unfortunately, our neighbors facing hunger often encounter financial barriers when seeking fresh produce. We are incredibly grateful for the ongoing support we receive from our volunteers, partner growers, donors, staff and everyone who aided in providing a record amount of produce to our neighbors in need.
This past September, Ozarks Food Harvest celebrated Hunger Action Month, the annual advocacy campaign to raise awareness about hunger and inspire action. Because of you – our dedicated donors, volunteers and advocates – we did so much more than raise awareness. Every gift, volunteer hour and conversation about hunger made an impact.
Community partnerships are crucial to this campaign to spread the word and raise funds for the Weekend Backpack Program. They consist of local businesses and organizations who host fund drives, offer special promotions and raise awareness.
This September, you may have tried the pumpkin muffin at Neighbor’s Mill, donated to Gold Mountain Communications’ food and fund drive, or participated in the multitude of other opportunities provided by our partners: Five Pound Apparel, Almighty Sando, Arby’s, Best
of Luck Beer Hall, Holmes & Griffeth Financial Planners, Mama Jean’s, McDonald’s, Mercy, Papa Johns, Panera, Smithfield Foods, and Vital Farms.
Thank you to everyone who donated food and funds or attended a Hunger Action Month event this September! When each of us does something small, together, we can make an impact. Your support means more than food – it means dignity and hope.
Special thanks to our Hunger Action Month presenting sponsor, Central Bank, for being a steadfast and generous partner in the movement to end hunger. Their unique Lights, Camera, Take Action! food and fund drive involved employees and bank patrons alike.
Hunger doesn’t end in September. Give us a call at 417-865-3411 to learn how your partnership can help us Transform Hunger into Hope all year long. Together, we can end hunger.
