Nonprofit of the Year Winner | Large: Ozarks Food Harvest Inc.

Buy food or keep the lights on? It’s a dilemma 40% of southwest Missouri households face while 20% of children go hungry. The need for Ozark Food Harvest Inc.’s food bank services continues to grow, and the nonprofit remains well poised for action.

“Our partners are serving anywhere from 25%-40% more neighbors needing food than at the very height of the COVID pandemic,” says CEO Bart Brown. “Ozarks Food Harvest supplies 70% of the food distributed by our network of charities free of charge, allowing them to focus their limited budgets on other operational needs.”

Ozarks Food Harvest serves 70,000 people each month with 270 partners covering one-third of the state. The food is delivered across 20,000 square miles by 18 refrigerated semi-trucks at no cost to partners. In 2023, the nonprofit provided 20 million meals, a total of $45 million in food and services. Programs include a mobile food pantry, senior food box program for 6,000 people, child feeding programs with 63,000 food bags delivered in 2023 and full circle gardens with more than 100 local farmers, producers and distributors. The nonprofit operates on a cash budget of $12.7 million with $40 million of in-kind food donations. Ninety-six cents of every dollar goes to food distribution and programming. The nonprofit employs 83 staffers and is supported by 3,800 volunteers. Ozarks Food Harvest is dedicated to providing nutritious, balanced meals with 25% of all food being fresh produce and dairy.

“We are really committed to improving the quality of food because there is a huge connection of hunger and health and food insecurity,” Brown said.

Its Charity Capacity Grant Program has given more than $1.5 million to charities for food distribution needs. Last year, it also began offering a special, celebrated grant program that provides a quick turn-around for immediate, urgent needs such as a fridge going down.

“What can we do to help you serve more people and what can we do to help serve more people in need with better food?” Brown says. “The issues that they face just trying to work with volunteers and limited resources – we do whatever we can do to take things off their plate so they can transform hunger into hope.”

That’s the succinct mission statement: Transforming hunger into hope. Brown has numerous stories to tell on what that looks like for the neighbors served and communities charities support. He can also look directly at his own staff. Half of the executive team has personally experienced poverty and food insecurity – now transforming their hunger into hope for others.

What is the heart of your organization’s mission?
“What we do is transform hunger into hope. We provide access to anyone to the same nutritious food that we all need.” —Bart Brown