Hungerthon raises $125K for Ozarks Food Harvest

While the annual Hungerthon fundraiser for Ozarks Food Harvest beat its goal, it fell short of last year’s record.

The 17th annual radio fundraiser - a partnership with Alice 95.5 - collected $125,380, above its $125,000 goal, according to a news release. Last year, the fundraiser brought in over $132,000.

Hosted 6 a.m. Friday through 10:08 a.m. today by Alice 95.5 emcees Kevin Howard and Liz Delany in the parking lot of the Tower Theater, 1856 S. Glenstone Ave., the fundraiser collected money for Ozarks Food Harvest’s Weekend Backpack Program. The $125,380 total would provide 415 at-risk children with food to eat during the weekends.

Ozarks Food Harvest’s program distributes some 55,000 backpacks annually to 51 southwest Missouri schools. The bags contain two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, two snacks and drinks. A $300 donation gives a single child food backpacks each weekend for an entire school year, according to the release.

Since the inception of Hungerthon in 1999, the event has raised nearly $1.5 million.

Ozarks Food Harvest provides roughly 13.6 million meals for over 260,000 people through its network of 200 organizations serving 28 Ozarks counties, according to the release.