More than half of Taney County residents are food insecure, according to Feeding America’s, Map the Meal Gap study. Fifty-two percent of those living in the county in 2023 were eligible for SNAP benefits.
In nearby Stone County, just under half of the population was SNAP eligible.
As even working folks struggle to put food on their tables, a food pantry is working to meet the needs of residents of those two counties.
Christian Action Ministries has offices in Branson and Forsyth and has been in operation for just over four decades.
"We were founded by 11 churches in our area when they came together to meet a common need, which is where the name Christian Action Ministries came from," said Laney Tatro, assistant director of CAM. "And here, 41 years later, we are much more than just a food pantry. We use food as a tool to minister to those in need, so we are not just filling bellies, we are filling hearts with hope as well."
On a recent weekday at the food pantry in Branson, people came in the door, checked in and waited their turn to choose their groceries. About a year ago, CAM switched to a choice model – clients are able to shop shelves and coolers in a small grocery store-like setting.
"Our volunteers love the interaction that they get now that they didn't get prior. Our neighbors love the interactions that they get now that they didn't get prior," she said. "But it puts the dignity back into choosing what you bring home. It puts dignity back into coming to the food pantry."
Christian Action Ministries serves around 7,500 individuals each month in all of Taney and Stone Counties. They offer food assistance but also offer care coaches to help with things like gas and rental assistance. Tatro said they also sit down and pray with every neighbor that comes through their doors.
Food insecurity in Stone and Taney Counties
Tatro said the need in those two counties is great.
"Food insecurity is quite high in our area. We are somewhere around 17% of our population is food insecure, which is higher than the state average and the national average," she said. "So just in our small rural communities of Stone and Taney County here, we sit quite a bit higher than that state and national average for food insecurity."
Serving such a large area can be difficult. Christian Action Ministries lost about $300,000 in federal funding due to budget cuts earlier this year. Tatro said she’s grateful for Ozarks Food Harvest, which has helped them fill in the gap. But there are transportation barriers as well -- especially when there’s a large lake (Table Rock) in the middle of the area they serve. That’s why CAM offers 25 mobile food distributions every month.
"We go out into the community to meet our neighbors where they're at," she said. "So, in eastern Taney County, you can find us in Protem and Bradleyville and Cedar Creek. You can find us in Hurley and Cape Fair in Stone County as well as Blue Eye. So we take our trucks out into the community full of groceries to meet our neighbors where they're at."
CAM is a partner agency of Ozarks Food Harvest, so they’re able to stretch donations further. And they partner with local businesses and other nonprofit organizations to help meet the need in their community.
Tatro said part of the problem of finding a solution to the problem of food insecurity is that those in positions to make important decisions have not experienced what it’s like to go hungry.
"It's very difficult to make those decisions and make decisions that matter and affect an entire nation of people if that's not something that you've experienced personally," she said, "and it's also something they will never experience in their lifetimes as they are in these positions that they hold in making these decisions systemically."
She said food insecurity has always had a stereotype associated with it, and it's difficult to break that stereotype, especially as it continues to be perpetuated.
"But I think if we could just make the right turns and spend our money correctly from the top down to the bottom," she said, "food insecurity could be fixed in a month."
As clients walk through the distribution area at CAM, they have several options to choose from. Tatro said they have nonperishable items "those commodity items that you traditionally think of when you think of a food pantry," but they also offer meat, eggs and cheese. And it's not just canned meat. There are freezers where clients get to choose which protein to take home. And they provide fresh produce as well as household items and diapers.
For Tatro, one of the best parts of her job is seeing people who come in to get food for themselves and their families, leave happy knowing that they’re able to provide for the ones they love.
She remembers a story from November of last year that highlights why she does what she does. A mom came to the food pantry with her young daughter, and they were choosing breakfast items "and the little girl saw a cereal box that had unicorns and rainbows and exciting stuff on it," said Tatro. "And she said, 'mom, I really want to get this one.' And so, the mom got that for her." She said they still had the option to choose another breakfast item, "and so she looked, and she said, 'well, let me get these breakfast bars for your brother because he's always running late for the school bus, and he never makes time to eat breakfast, but he needs to eat in the mornings.' And she was so proud to be able to select those items for her children specifically and to be able to be that hero and go home and say, 'look what I got for you.' "
Tatro said it's those little moments they've seen that makes them realize the difference they are able to make. Those moments, she said, completely shift a person's perspective "and their drive, and it gives them hope that someone does care and someone is there."
Volunteers
Volunteers make all the difference for Christian Action Ministries. There are about 400 of them and only nine staff members. One of those volunteers, Stacy Norris, said she’s blessed to be able to help out at CAM.
"The best part, first off, is just the staff here," she said, "to see their commitment to just helping and loving people and, not only loving them with the food, but praying over them, getting the resources that they might not know is available to them."
She said it might be help for one month or two, but she said it's rewarding "when those people and clients come back in and bring donations because now they are in a place in their life where they can take care of themselves."
She has this message for anyone in Stone and Taney Counties who is struggling to keep food on their tables.
"Please come and let us help you," she said. "We are all in a community to love one another in the ups and the downs, but especially in the downs. Come out and let us help you."
Nico Burasco provided production support for this story.
