Arvest exceeds hunger campaign goal

Arkansas-based Arvest Bank raised more than 1.2 million meals to feed the hungry during a two-month period, exceeding the goal set forth in April for its 1 Million Meals campaign.

During the fundraiser, Arvest branches accepted cash donations - by selling paper plates for $1 apiece - and nonperishable food. Donations were made by Arvest Bank, Arvest employees, customers and local residents, according to a news release.

In the Springfield market, Arvest branches raised 41,448 meals, with food and money going to Ozarks Food Harvest and Christian Action Ministry.

“I am so proud that our Arvest community has such a giving spirit and that through our efforts we were able to make an impact in the fight against hunger in the Springfield community," Rodney Shepard, president of Arvest Bank, Springfield, said in the release.

The 1 Million Meals campaign was a systemwide effort for Arvest, in which it solicited donations in all of the 90 communities it serves in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas.