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Ozarks Food Harvest to Help Federal Workers with Food Donations

OFH

A temporary food pantry will be open this week in Springfield for federal employees impacted by the government shutdown. 

Ozarks Food Harvest, 2810 N. Cedarbrook, will host the pantry from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and tomorrow (1/15 & 1/16) and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday (1/17).

The food bank decided to open the pantry after monitoring demand from member agencies and seeing who was asking for help.  Ozarks Food Harvest executive director, Bart Brown, said they also reached out to the Federal Medical Center in Springfield, which has 600 employees.  Workers there said they’d welcome help.

"There's a lot of folks that are dual income federal employees either at the Federal Medical Center or at other places, and so there's certain households where not only one income but all incomes have been impacted, and so this was one thing that we could do to help without putting any additional burden  on the existing agencies that we serve," said Brown.

Ozarks Food Harvest hasn’t been reimbursed for distributing federal food since December, according to Brown, even though it continues to hand it out.  The reimbursement is typically $20,000 to $25,000 each month, and Brown said the deficit will add up quickly if the shutdown continues.

The food bank is asking for monetary donations to help it continue providing food to those who need it during the shutdown.

Michele Skalicky has worked at KSMU since the station occupied the old white house at National and Grand. She enjoys working on both the announcing side and in news and has been the recipient of statewide and national awards for news reporting. She likes to tell stories that make a difference. Michele enjoys outdoor activities, including hiking, camping and leisurely kayaking.