McDonald's campaign collects 30K pounds of food

Last edited 3:31 p.m., Dec. 20, 2012

The fifth annual McDonald's Cans for Coffee fundraiser collected nearly 30,000 pounds of food for Springfield nonprofit Ozarks Food Harvest. Including a donation of chicken last month from Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson Foods Inc., the campaign brought in more than 57,000 meals for the food bank to distribute to its network of member agencies across the Ozarks.

More than 60 McDonald's fast-food restaurants in the Ozarks collected donations during the Oct. 31-Nov. 20 campaign. In exchange for a canned food item, customers could receive a free small coffee drink of their choice, according to a news release.

“We are thankful for McDonald’s continued partnership, and for all of the customers who helped make this food drive one of our largest,” said Denise Gibson, development director at Ozarks Food Harvest, in the release. “With help from McDonald’s, we can be sure families in need will have groceries in the new year.”

On Nov. 13, Tyson donated 38,400 pounds of chicken to Ozarks Food Harvest for the campaign.

Since 2008, the annual McDonald's Cans for Coffee fundraisers have collected more than 115,000 pounds of food, the release said.

In separate but related news, Waverly, Neb.-based Smart Chicken on Tuesday delivered 9,000 pounds of frozen poultry to Ozarks Food Harvest, representing a mix of chicken, breasts, drumsticks, leg quarters and thighs.

According to the Springfield nonprofit, food items high in protein are the least donated to food banks.

Ozarks Food Harvest distributes 10 million meals annually to 170,000 individuals, serving 25 nonprofits across 28 Ozarks counties, according to the release.