Ozarks Food Harvest to distribute garden kits to families
SPRINGFIELD — Ozarks Food Harvest’s Full Circle Gardens program will distribute 5,000 Garden-to-Go kits this year to help families facing hunger in the Ozarks grow their own food. Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, Seed Savers Exchange and other local retailers donated more than $2 million worth of seeds to The Food Bank to make these kits.
The Food Bank will distribute their Garden-to-Go Kits to their network of 270 community and faith-based charities, as well as other Feeding America food banks in Missouri. This year, The Food Bank also has enough seeds to share with the Springfield Greene County Library for their Heirloom Seed Library.
“Our Garden-to-Go kits are another great way for us to help feed families by giving them the tools to grow some of their own food supply,” said Alexa Poindexter, Full Circle Gardens Manager at Ozarks Food Harvest. “We’re so thankful for our donors and volunteers that believe in our mission to transform hunger into hope.”
Ozarks Food Harvest staff and volunteers will sort, assemble and pack Garden-to-Go kit materials every Wednesday through February. Each kit contains seeds for a flower, herb, and eight different vegetables. To make planting easier, the kits also contain a specific planting calendar with links to gardening instructions and budget-friendly cookbooks.
Ozarks Food Harvest launched the Full Circle Gardens program in 1999 with just a few community gardens as part of its strategic initiative to increase fresh produce distribution. Today, The Food Bank collaborates with dozens of local partners, 39 produce donors, and distributes more than 30,000 seed packets to the community every year.
The Food Bank has many opportunities to get involved this season to help families in the community have more access to fresh produce. For those who have their own garden, you can plant an extra row and bring the harvest for donation to Ozarks Food Harvest. If you have a large garden, farm or orchard, you can contact The Food Bank’s Glean Team at fullcirclegardens@ozarksfoodharvest.org to harvest and collect your donation.
If you are interested in joining the Glean Team or volunteering at Ozarks Food Harvest, you can sign up at ozarksfoodharvest.org/ volunteer.
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 270 community and faith-based charities across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank reaches 50,000 individuals monthly and provides more than 20 million meals annually. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org.