Putting the Ozarks First: How local food banks use your donations

SPRINGFIELD — Through our "Putting the Ozarks First" food drive, your donations will not only help local families but also multiple food banks.

Over the years, OzarkFirst's annual food drive has raised thousands of dollars and hundreds of pounds of food. This holiday season we are partnering with Hy-Vee and Ozarks Food Harvest to help families once again who are facing food insecurity.

Your donations will go toward Ozarks Food Harvest, who serve about 70,000 families in the area. This year, our three ways to donate are easier than ever.

• Round up purchase at the register at either Springfield Hyvee
• Donate non-perishable goods at blue bins near the exit of either Springfield Hyvee
• Donate directly to Ozarks Food Harvest

Monetary donations are perhaps most effective since OFH is able to turn $1 into $10 worth of food through the buying power they have through local grocers.

Ozarks Food Harvest gets food directly to families through programs like after-school food, their backpack program, mobile pantry, and senior citizen program.

It's not just families enrolled in OFH programs that they assist, it's also other food banks. OFH has partnerships with dozens of schools and organizations like Crosslines food pantry.

Nathan Mortenson, Food Program Director at Crosslines, says Ozarks Food Harvest supplies about 80% of the food they use to stock up their pantry and serve families enrolled with them.

 "We get donations from churches, businesses, and individuals each day," Mortenson says. "But with demand as high as it's been, we're talking over 100 families a day on any given day. In November, we were sometimes over 200."

He says it's not always the same families coming in, saying that inflation has brought a lot of new faces in seeking food assistance.

Our "Putting the Ozarks First" food drive will run through the end of 2024.