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Phone: (417) 865-3411 O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief Emergency Food Assistance Sites |
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What’s new at the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief? |
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Hungerthon 2012 is June 1-4 Join Ozarks Food Harvest and Clear Channel Media & Entertainment’s Alice 95.5 for the 14th annual Hungerthon radio-thon event in front of the studios at the Historic Tower Theatre in Springfield! Listen on-air June 1–4 to learn how you can help sponsor an at-risk child’s backpack through The Food Bank’s Weekend Backpack Program. This is a community-wide event—get involved today by calling (417) 865-3411. |
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Celebrate Springfield Business Journal's 40 Under 40 Class of 2012 with OFH We’re honored to be the benefiting charity of this year’s Springfield Business Journal 40 Under 40 event! Please make plans to attend the May 17 ceremony at 5:30 p.m. at Bass Pro Shops' White River Conference Center in Springfield. Tickets are $28 each, but you can also donate to your community food bank that evening via a raffle to be included in the $40 Club. You’ll get special treatment, including your name printed in a follow-up ad in SBJ, plus help provide 215 meals to families in need! Learn more about the raffle. Purchase a ticket. |
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Map the Meal Gap With updated Map the Meal Gap data in hand, OFH has learned the need for food assistance in the Ozarks continues to be too high. Sixteen percent of those living in southwest Missouri continue to face food insecurity, meaning they are unsure where their next meal is coming from. A quarter of these people aren’t eligible for federal assistance. Read more about the study. |
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Spring food drives in high demand High gas prices and rising food costs make it more difficult for our neighbors to afford healthy meals, and even though the economy is improving, things aren’t improving for everyone. Families on the low end of the economic scale are always the last ones to benefit from recovery. We need your help so we can continue distributing one million pounds of food monthly to 170,000 Ozarkers in need. YES, I want to learn more about helping. |
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National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 15-21 Calling all of our Volunteer Rock Stars: You’re invited to this year’s appreciation event, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. on Friday, April 20 at Ozarks Food Harvest. Lunch will be served from noon to 1 p.m. and activities are planned for before and after. Come in your best “80s costume” and get ready for 80s Trivia and plenty of prizes. You Rock! RSVP to Jen at (417) 865-3411. |
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Current financial statements are now available Every dollar you invest in our mission helps us provide seven pounds of food to a family in need, or $10 worth of food distribution and services across 28 counties. We pride ourselves on getting the best return for our supporters’ dollars. You can now view our fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2011 financials, along with our most recent independent auditors’ report on our Financial Page. View the FY10 & FY11 Honor Roll of Donors & Annual Report here. |
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Help strengthen & protect nutrition programs in the Farm Bill As the Senate prepares to move a Farm Bill next month, and as the House moves forward with its Farm Bill field hearings, it is important that food banks send a strong, united message about our priorities for Farm Bill nutrition programs. Programs like TEFAP, SNAP, and CSFP are at risk of funding cuts at a time when the need for these programs is greater than ever. Help us send the strongest possible message about the need to protect and strengthen our programs. We’ve put together a sample post to help you. |
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Brad Paisley teams up with Ozarks Food Harvest Country music superstar Brad Paisley came to Springfield in Feb. and helped raise the equivalent of 5,000 meals for Ozarkers in need. In advance of the concert, Paisley partnered with Ozarks Food Harvest for a “Food Drive Giveaway,” collecting more than $850 and 500 lbs. of food. Thanks to everyone who donated, and congratulations to the winner of the two VIP tickets and backstage passes, Scott Harrell, who gave the prize to his son, Sean. See the winner. Read the release. |
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Backpack Program gifts doubled by CFO, gets boost from Coover Foundation Heartfelt thanks to Backpack Program supporters who responded to the “Red-Flag” Community Response Grant Challenge before Feb. Thanks to these generous gifts, OFH received a dollar-for-dollar match of nearly $7,000 from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. Additionally, sincerest thanks go to the Louis & Dorothy Coover Regional Grantmaking Program for recently awarding $11,420 to the Backpack Program. Read more at cfozarks.org. |
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Two local foundations present $200,000 in hunger relief grants In late January, the Slusher Foundation awarded grants totaling $100,000 to nearly one dozen OFH members in Taney and Stone counties. In early February, the Musgrave Foundation gifted $100,000 in awards to seven Greene County-area OFH partners. Heartfelt thanks to both of these organizations for their extraordinary efforts to fight hunger in the Ozarks. Congratulations to Boys & Girls Club of the Ozarks (Branson, Forsyth, Reeds Spring), Christian Action Ministries, Christian Associates, Church Army Branson, Gift of Hope, Jesus Was Homeless, Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch, North Stone County Food Pantry, Our Lady of the Cove, Heart of the Ozarks, Crosslines, The Kitchen, Ash Grove Food Pantry, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (Billings), Springfield Community Center and Springfield Victory Mission. |
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Food for Fines 2012 collects five tons of food Springfield–Greene County Library patrons exchanged Food for Fines in January! Through the 3rd annual food drive, Jan. 22–28, community members received a 50-cent credit on their overdue book fines for each donated food item. Nearly 10,000 pounds was collected by all ten library branches and the bookmobile. Read the release. |
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Thank you for “Checking-out Hunger” 'The 2011 “Check-out Hunger” campaign, Nov. 15–Dec. 31, collected $22,130 for Ozarkers in need across 28 counties! Thank you for adding your $1 tax-free donation at the 60 participating grocers in 40 communities, including Akin's, Bistro Market, Country Mart, Dillon Stores, Harter House, Murfin's Market, Price Cutter, Ramey, Save-A-Lot, Smillie's, Smitty's, Summer Fresh & Woods. Read the media release. Learn more. |
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McDonald’s Cans for Coffee makes OFH history Ozarks Food Harvest received the final donations from the fourth annual McDonald’s Cans for Coffee food drive, collecting a grand total of 36,650 pounds, making it the largest annual food drive in The Food Bank’s history. Since 2008, Cans for Coffee has encouraged community members to donate a nonperishable food item at a participating McDonald’s of the Ozarks location. In exchange, donors receive one free small McCafé® drink of their choice. This year’s food drive was held Oct. 31–Nov. 20 at 60 local McDonald’s restaurants. Read more. Go to the event page. |
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Harvest Soup Cook-off draws more than 500 supporters More than 500 community members sampled soups and stews at the 2nd annual Harvest Soup Cook-off at the Greater Springfield Farmers’ Market (Battlefield Mall parking lot) on Saturday, Oct. 15. More than 1,000 lbs. of food was collected and a total of $1,747.04 was raised. Zio’s took first place and Big Whiskey’s was runner-up in the restaurant division. In the market vendor division, Flintrock Bison Ranch again won first place. Thayer Farms received runner-up. Special thanks to the more than 20 restaurants and market vendors for participating, the Greater Springfield Farmers’ Market, Fellers Fixtures, Opfer Communications, Springfield Paper Company, Palmisano Communications, Harvest on Wheels and all of the OFH volunteers!. Learn more. Watch the PSA |
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| September is Hunger Action Month. Play your role in ending hunger. Click “share” below to pass along the video. The problem is closer than you think, but so is the solution. Learn how you can help. |
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NBC Nightly News features Ozarks Food Harvest NBC Nightly News visited Ozarks Food Harvest in Springfield and the Joplin Family Worship Center—one of the pantries The Food Bank serves in Joplin—in August. Even though progress has been made months after the tornado devastated the community, there is still a great need. Watch the broadcasted Food Bank feeling the pinch and the special web-only story, Transforming hunger into hope. |
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Disaster relief efforts drain Food Bank, Food Drives urgently needed Ozarks Food Harvest has sent more than 100 semi-truckloads—or close to 2 million pounds of product valued at more than $3 million—to the Joplin community since May 23. The Food Bank dispatches 15 truckloads to the Joplin area weekly, while its remaining 300 member food pantries and feeding sites across the Ozarks are seeing demand for their services spike. Ozarks Food Harvest is asking community groups to host food drives for all of southwest Missouri. Learn how you can help. Read the media release. |
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Ozarks Food Harvest serves Joplin for the long-haul. In response to the tornado devastation in Joplin, Ozarks Food Harvest has secured many truckloads of food items and supplies that will be delivered to the affected area this week. Donations are still needed and can be delivered to The Food Bank at 2810 N. Cedarbrook Ave. in Springfield. Monetary donations are also requested at this time and can be made securely online or to OFH, Attn: Joplin Disaster Relief, P.O. Box 5746, Springfield, MO 65801-5746. Read the media releases. Purchase a benefit t-shirt. See OFH Joplin relief sites. |
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Hungerthon 2011 exceeds goal Thank you Ozarks! Ozarks Food Harvest and Clear Channel Radio’s Alice@95.5’s 13th annual Hungerthon radiothon event raised $127,875 for the Weekend Backpack Program™. Special thanks to all event sponsors, corporate matches and individuals who pledged to sponsor a Backpack child. Read more. View event photos. |
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2011 Small Business of the Year The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce announced Ozarks Food Harvest as its 2011 W. Curtis Strube Small Business Award recipient on May 4 during its annual awards luncheon. Read more. View photos. Watch the video. |
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Provide nutritious food to those in need Harvest on Wheels collects and transports food donated by generous farmers, gardeners and other caring neighbors to local hunger relief agencies. In the past two years, Harvest on Wheels has collected nearly 60,000 lbs. of fresh produce and nonperishable food items and more than $5,000 for Ozarks Food Harvest’s Network! Get involved. |
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Food Insecurity Study & Million Dollar Hunger Challenge Ozarks Food Harvest recently unveiled a landmark analysis of local food insecurity levels via the Map the Meal Gap study. In response to the new data, Walmart and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks are teaming up to increase hunger relief efforts—along with The Food Bank—across southwest Missouri. Thanks to a $125,000 gift from the Walmart Foundation, the trio of organizations will conduct the Ozarks Million Dollar Hunger Challenge for a second consecutive year. Read more. |
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