SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — In the past year, Ozarks Food Harvest provided more than 23 million meals to children, families and seniors facing hunger across southwest Missouri through its network of faith-based and community charities.
The Food Bank increased distribution in 2025 by purchasing additional food, responding to an emergency shutdown and investing in their 270 local charity partners spread across 28 counties.
The Food Bank spent more than $2 million on food purchases and awarded their network over $500,000 in grants to help sustain and expand hunger-relief efforts across southwest Missouri. In total, Ozarks Food Harvest distributed more than 27 million pounds of food, nearly two-thirds of which was fresh, perishable product.
During the longest federal government shutdown in history, The Food Bank stepped up to support federal workers going without pay and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients who faced a lapse in benefits. They purchased an additional $500,000 of food and provided $300,000 in emergency grants to their partner charities to support the increased need. They also hosted four food distributions at the O’Reilly Center for Hunger Relief for federal workers that served nearly 2,500 individuals with 40,000 meals.
Ozarks Food Harvest’s Retail Pick-Up Program rescued more than 8.2 million pounds of edible food from being sent to the landfill. The program coordinates pick-ups of food donations like fresh produce, frozen meat and dairy from more than 180 grocers every week.
According to Feeding America’s latest Map the Meal Gap study, food insecurity in Ozarks Food Harvest’s service area has increased from 1 in 7 children and adults to 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults. That’s higher than Missouri’s overall average of 1 in 6 people experiencing food insecurity.
“Rising costs continue to make it difficult for our neighbors to put nutritious food on the table,” said Bart Brown, president and CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest. “At Ozarks Food Harvest, we remain committed to ensuring that families don’t have to choose between accessing nutritious food and other essentials.”
Through its network of 270 charities, Ozarks Food Harvest serves more than 90,000 unduplicated children, families and seniors each month.
