Transforming
Hunger Into Hope ™
We serve charities who end hunger in southwest Missouri
Watch Our StoryEvery $1 donated to Ozarks Food Harvest provides 3 Meals.
By rescuing, growing and obtaining food, The Food Bank distributes over 1.7 million meals per month to children, families and seniors facing hunger.
News and Events
Food is medicine: A new approach to help seniors take charge of their health
February 17, 2026
When times are tough and budgets are tight, nutritious food is often the first thing households sacrifice to make ends meet. But when someone can...
Help Springfield schools raise meals and win the title of Food Fight Champions
January 29, 2026
Food Fight is an annual two-week competition between multiple Springfield Public Schools and their partner organizations. The teams that raise the most food and funds...
Girl Scouts Cookie Share
Help the Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland provide Girl Scout Cookies for families facing hunger in southwest Missouri. Local Girl Scouts are collecting donations...
Lent Food Drive 2026
During Lent, help provide meals for our neighbors facing hunger by hosting a Lent Food Drive at your church or business. February 18-April 2, participate...
Our Programs
Weekend Backpack Program
Weekend Backpack Program
The Food Bank’s Weekend Backpack Program provides children facing hunger with a bag of nutritious, child-friendly food to take home every weekend of the school year when they might otherwise go without.
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After-School Food
The After-School Food Program
During the school year, Ozarks Food Harvest sponsors local after-school sites through federally funded programs that help provide nutritious meals to children when they’re not at school. Sponsored sites offer meals to children at a variety of community locations where kids are already gathering like Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA’s, churches and schools.
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Summer Food
The Summer Food Program
Children who rely on school meals during the school year are also at risk of hunger during the summer months. Ozarks Food Harvest sponsors local summer kids’ sites through federally funded programs that help provide nutritious meals to children when they’re not at school.
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Mobile Food Pantry
The Mobile Food Pantry Program
Ozarks Food Harvest’s Mobile Food Pantry program delivers groceries directly to towns where food assistance is scarce. Product is served off a truck to families and seniors facing hunger in just a couple hours. These distributions remove barriers to food assistance like limited storage at our partner charities and transportation issues.
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Senior Food
The Senior Food Program
Ozarks Food Harvest partners with senior centers, churches and food pantries to distribute more than 4,000 boxes of USDA food to income-eligible seniors every month. Senior Food Boxes are assembled by volunteers at our distribution center and delivered to partner charities who serve local seniors directly.
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SNAP
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Ozarks Food Harvest provides application assistance to individuals applying for SNAP benefits. Applying to SNAP can seem daunting and complicated, especially when people are already facing tough times. Our SNAP outreach coordinators remove this barrier so our neighbors can access the food they need.
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Retail Pick-Up Program
The Retail Pick-Up Program
The Retail Pick-Up Program rescues food from local retailers that does not meet standards for retail sales, but is still safe for consumption. This program diverts hundreds of truckloads of food from ending up in landfills and distributes it to our neighbors facing hunger.
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Full Circle Gardens
The Food Bank's Garden & Glean Team Program
Full Circle Gardens increases our community’s access to fresh produce by growing fruits and vegetables at our Food Bank Farm, gleaning excess crops from local farms, and receiving donations from backyard gardens and farmer’s markets. Full Circle Gardens also offers garden education opportunities to increase local food sources in our community.
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