Wal-Mart issues Ozarks Food Harvest $125K grant

The fundraising arm of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) yesterday presented a $125,000 grant to Ozarks Food Harvest.

The gift from the Wal-Mart Foundation would allow the Springfield nonprofit to dole out grant funding to its 200 member food pantries across 28 Missouri counties.

“Those agencies in turn fundraise to receive the grant as a match. For instance, if we select one pantry’s grant application to receive $3,000, the pantry fundraises to receive that grant as a dollar-for-dollar match,” Ozarks Food Harvest President and CEO Bart Brown said in the release.

Since 2010, the Wal-Mart Foundation has issued $515,000 in grants to Ozarks Food Harvest. With matching donations from its member agencies, over 200 pass-through grants resulted in over $1 million to fight hunger in the area.

Jessica Hinkle, manager of the Springfield Wal-Mart store at 2825 N. Kansas Expressway, said the grant funding is designed to build stronger communities.

“Through this donation, we are hopeful that residents in Missouri will enjoy the many health and wellness benefits that fresh fruits and vegetables bring to the table,” she said in the release.

In fiscal 2014, Wal-Mart stores in Missouri donated over 23.4 million pounds of food to nonprofits.