Events

Annual Events and Food Drives

	Scouting for Food – March For 19 years, more than 70 southwest Missouri Boy Scout troops collect food donations from community neighborhoods to benefit The Food Bank. Troops distribute grocery bags in early March and “scout for food” one week later to gather the donations for Ozarks Food Harvest. This annual food drive typically collects nearly 10,000 pounds of food!
	Hunger Run™ – April Panera Bread partners with The Food Bank to host the annual Hunger Run, an 8K run and 1 mile fun run/walk. Participants run to fill empty tummies. They run to fill empty cabinets. And they run because people are depending on us for survival – people who aren’t sure where their next meal will come from. People right here in the Ozarks. The race begins in front of Panera Bread in the Southern Hills Shopping Center. Registration forms can be picked up at area Panera Bread locations and Ridge Runner Sports. If you would like to sponsor this event, please call 865-3411.
	HUNGERTHON™ - June Clear Channel Communication’s Alice@95.5 partners with Ozarks Food Harvest for this four-day event to increase awareness about the surprising faces of hunger in the Ozarks, while raising money for The Food Bank’s distribution efforts and direct relief programs. This radiothon is held the first weekend of June each year in front of the Historic Tower Theater in Springfield—2008 will mark the 10th annual HUNGERTHON! Call us at (417) 865-3411 to be a 2008 “Power Hour” sponsor!
	Hunger Awareness Day with American Family Insurance and the Springfield Cardinals – June Help “strike out hunger” on Hunger Awareness Day! Come to Hammons Field and give food or monetary donations to The Food Bank – American Family agents hand out free give-a-ways at the gates! This annual food drive event is held at two Springfield Cardinals games each June in conjunction with Hungerthon™.
	Hunger Relief Conference – September Ozarks Food Harvest’s annual conference is an opportunity for those working every day on the front lines of hunger relief to have the chance to network with each other. The Food Bank invites a number of speakers to host sessions for guests. In 2007, nearly 300 attended the conference, themed “Delivering Hope”, among them were Governor Blunt and Representative Jetton. Call Lucy Indyushkin at 865-3411 if you’d like to speak, sponsor, or attend the next conference.
	Springfield EXPO – October Come network with us! Visit The Food Bank’s booth at the beginning of October and help us gain partnerships with local businesses and grow our family of supporters and volunteers. We’d love to see you there!
	Spike Out Hunger and the North American Food Drive – November Gamma Sigma Sigma service sorority of Missouri State University and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity of Drury University both have held these two annual food drives for over a decade for the food bank. The November events are two of the largest fall food drives held for The Food Bank. Evangel University and Spokane High School have also collected record pounds! If your school would like to hold an event or food drive to benefit OFH, please call (417) 865-3411.
	Turkey Trot – November The Springfield Park Board sponsors this annual 5K run on Thanksgiving Day to benefit local nonprofits. Ozarks Food Harvest receives donated nonperishable goods from the event. In 2006, Turkey Trot collected 3,446 pounds of food for The Food Bank!
	Check Out Hunger™– November and December We cannot thank the members of our community enough for adding a tax-free donation to their grocery bills every holiday season! By adding $1 to your grocery bill, you help Ozarks Food Harvest serve 5 hungry people. Please support Akins, Dillon’s, Harter House, Murfin’s Markets, Ramey-Price Cutter, Smillie’s, Summer Fresh and Woods for allowing OFH to place holiday fundraising materials in their stores! A special thanks to our new partner, Cody’s Convenience Stores, and to event sponsors: Graif Design, McCann Printing, KY3, Clear Channel Communications, and Community Publishers, Inc. In 2007, community members raised more than $20,000 by Checking Out Hunger!