Food pantries across the Ozarks will be able to help more people thanks to a large donation made today to Ozarks Food Harvest. Tyson Foods dropped off a large supply of chicken at the food bank this morning.
"We received over 35,000 pounds of chicken, and that's a lot of chicken, and it's just such a great time of year for us to get this because as more people roll into the holiday season and rolling into the season where utility bills are higher, a lot of people are stepping up asking for help," she said.
Denise Gibson is director of development for Ozarks Food Harvest. She says the chicken will be distributed as soon as possible to area agencies served by the food bank.
A similar donation has been made by Tyson over the last few years in conjunction with the McDonald’s Cans for Coffee food drive, which started Monday and runs through November 16th at 63 participating restaurants. Gibson expects that to generate much needed food donations as well.
According to Gibson, the drive has collected a lot of food for the needy in the Ozarks over the last seven years.
"That has raised 140,000 pounds that we were able to turn around and give back to all of our member pantries and agencies," she said.
During the Cans for Coffee drive, McDonald’s patrons receive a free McCafe drink with the donation of a nonperishable food item.
The need in the Ozarks for food assistance is increasing, according to a recent Hunger in America study. In 2010, the study showed 170,000 people seeking assistance in the area served by Ozarks Food Harvest. This year, Gibson says that number had grown to 260,000.
