The annual Check Out Hunger campaign for Ozarks Food Harvest gets underway Saturday (11/15) and runs through December 31st. The way it works is: when you go to pay for your groceries at one of 80 southwest Missouri stores, you'll have the opportunity to add a $1, $3 or $5 tax-free donation to your bill. Shoppers will find Check Out Hunger signs in the check-out lanes.
Ozarks Food Harvest serves 260,000 unduplicated individuals annually through 200 partner pantries and emergency food assistance sites in addition to its own direct-service programs, according to an OFH news release. "That's one in four southwest Missouri residents who access food from OFH's network."
The 2013 Check Out Hunger campaign collected $36,515--the equivalent of 182,500 meals. Since 1998, the holiday campaign has collected $271,000 in donations--the equivalent of 1.4 million meals, according to OFH.
Ozarks Food Harvest serves 28 Ozarks counties and distributes 12.5 million meals annually to more than 260,000 unduplicated individuals.
To learn more about Check Out Hunger or Ozarks Food Harvest, click here.