Arvest Bank beats food fundraising goal of 1M meals

With the help of its Springfield-area branches, Arvest Bank beat the fundraising goal for its annual 1 Million Meals campaign.

The event, which ran in April and May, called on employees, customers and residents to donate nonperishable goods throughout the Lowell, Ark.-based company’s 120-community service area, according to a news release.

Across Arvest’s markets in four states, the banking company raised 1.71 million meals, above the 2015 total of 1.65 million.

In Springfield and Nixa, fundraising totaled 20,502 meals, up from 18,780 a year earlier. Foods raised locally benefit Ozarks Food Harvest.

“We hope 1 Million Meals has increased hunger awareness in southern Missouri and will continue to fight hunger in our community long after this year’s initiative has ended,” said Brad Crain, president and CEO of Arvest Bank in Springfield, in the release.

For this year’s campaign, Arvest moved fundraising to spring from fall, a change designed to help students exiting school for the summer.

“The more than 20,000 meals collected during this year’s drive will make such an impact on the one in four people in the Ozarks who access food assistance from our network of pantries and feeding sites,” Ozarks Food Harvest President and CEO Bart Brown said in the release.

Arvest, which operates 270 branches in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas, has raised 9.6 million meals for 60 food bank partners since the campaign began in 2011, including $1.6 million in funds given directly.