OZARK, Mo. – Least of These food pantry is making sure people in Christian County don’t go home hungry.
One woman in Ozark says this food pantry changed her life.
Savannah Coston said it was because of a traumatic situation.
She needed the pantry after one day out on the road.
“I actually was in a car accident and we were just in a really bad financial situation,” Coston said.
Coston didn’t have a job and she needed to feed her family.
“We needed the extra helping hand,” Coston said. “Whenever we found that it really actually made an impact.”
The food pantry helps Coston take care of her 3-year-old son Isaiah.
“It’s really been good just especially for him because there’s a lot of fruits, vegetables, treats and things like that,” Coston said.
It makes things easier for her family.
“Of course it helps us keep food in the cabinets and like especially during hard times or whatever may be the situation at the time,” Coston said.
Coston and others go to the pantry once a month.
“When we moved to Ozark a little over a year ago, we knew that we would see an increase in families that we were serving simply because we are closer to the needs within the county,” Kristy Carter, director of development said.
Carter’s pantry has a busy schedule.
“We are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Carter said. “And then we have two evenings a month that we’re also seeing families.”
Two nights a month, the pantry serves clients who can’t travel.
“We started doing a mobile food pantry in the Chadwick and Oldfield area,” Carter said.
They chose that area after noticing something almost a decade ago.
“We found that there were many families in that area who would cancel their food appointments,” Carter said. “Well they didn’t have the gas money to get there and back.”
Including the mobile pantry, more than 840 families are fed every month.
“We have four full-time staff members and we have about 120 regular volunteers,” Carter said.
This all wouldn’t be possible without donations.
“We are all funded by individuals, churches, businesses and civic groups that are in the area,” Carter said.
Even a small donation can make a difference.
“We are able to purchase $10 worth of food for every dollar that’s donated,” Carter said.
The pantry buys food from Ozarks Food Harvest for 14 cents a pound.
Carter said any donation helps.
