Nonprofit, church partner on food distribution

Springfield nonprofit Ozarks Food Harvest Inc. is partnering with the southwest side's St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church on a new food distribution center.

The distribution site at the church, 2200 W. Republic Road, is designed to bring food assistance to qualifying families at no cost to them, according to a news release.

“We’re so happy to partner with another site in Springfield that will provide convenient food assistance to families in Greene County,” said Denise Gibson, development and communication director at Ozarks Food Harvest, in the release. “The food bank is in it for the long haul to make sure we can bring families through this difficult time.”

The project is funded through The Emergency Food Assistance Program, a U.S. Department of Agriculture initiative. TEFAP allows the USDA to buy food and partner with Ozarks Food Harvest and other nonprofits to distribute it.

The church site will begin food distribution on April 14. Families can receive food on the second Wednesday of each month.

Since April 2020, Ozarks Food Harvest has hosted more than 115 mobile food pantries and purchased an additional $3.6 million worth of food for its distribution network, according to the release. The nonprofit has provided a record-breaking 22 million meals to its 270-member network during the pandemic.