West Plains, Mo.— Martha Vance Samaritan Outreach Center recently received a capacity building grant thanks to Ozarks Food Harvest’s $1 million investment in agency infrastructure in southwest Missouri.
The grant funding will purchase refrigerators, shelves, kitchen items and food, which will help increase food capacity and feed families in Howell County. MVSOC was one of more than 70 organizations chosen by Ozarks Food Harvest to receive an agency capacity grant to assist with hunger-relief efforts.
“This grant is truly a blessing to our community. It will enable us to continue to serve the children, families and seniors that are dealing with economic uncertainty and food insecurity,” said Lori Concepcion, Executive Director of Samaritan Outreach Center. “Thanks to Ozarks Food Harvest, we’re able to distribute more food now and in the future. We don’t know what we would do without them.”
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 270 charities across 28 Ozarks counties. This capacity building investment is part of The Food Bank’s multi-faceted strategy to address needs identified in Missouri’s Food Assistance and Hunger in the Heartland 2021 report conducted by the MU Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security.
“These grant funds are an investment in the future of our community’s food system,” said Bart Brown, president/CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest. “Increasing access to food is key as our network of hunger-relief charities continue to deal with the expanding cost of food and fuel.”
Samaritan Outreach Center has sheltered over 140 people including children and families during the past year. They provide housing, food, laundry, and clothing (if necessary) and connect all of their residents to available services in the community that will assist them in securing permanent housing. The Center has also provided food boxes to over 350 families during the past year. Last month, MVSOC gave food boxes to 49 families that fed 93 hungry people. Their soup kitchen has consistently served a free lunch and dinner to anyone that finds themselves hungry in West Plains. During the month of May, they served a total of 2,285 meals for residents and soup kitchen guests. MVSOC does not want anyone to be hungry or homeless in the community and, with the help that Ozark Food Harvest provides, it is meeting this goal.
The Martha Vance Samaritan Outreach Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit agency and donations are always welcome. You can contact the center by calling 417-257-7792, or on Facebook at MarthaVanceSamaritanOutreachCenter, and our website is samaritanoutreachcenter.com
