JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Missouri agriculture leaders and elected officials joined together at the Missouri State Fair on Thursday, Aug. 15 to stand in the gap for those facing hunger in our state. Food insecurity affects one in seven Missouri children. According to Feeding Missouri, this number increases to up to one in three kids in rural parts of the state. Missouri agriculture has banded together to combat these statistics through the Missouri Farmers Care (MFC) Drive to Feed Kids campaign. This year, over 711,000 meals were raised and over the past eight years, this collaborative partnership has raised resources to feed over thirteen million hungry children across the state.
“We are honored to partner with Missouri agriculture, elected leaders, Feeding Missouri and the state’s six food banks to make a positive impact in the lives of our food insecure neighbors,” said Ashley McCarty, MFCF executive director. “Farmers and ranchers work 365 days a year to produce abundance from our farms and ranches. The Drive to Feed Kids addresses the disconnect where that abundance doesn’t reach our neighbors’ dinner tables.”
Partnering with Missouri Farmers Care, Feeding Missouri and The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri, leaders packed boxes to provide emergency food assistance to neighbors in need. These activities built on a year-long effort to address the needs of our food insecure neighbors. The 2024 Drive to Feed Kids kicked off in January with the 4-H Feeding Missouri initiative. Missouri 4-H members raised 291,735 meals through events in their communities. On Tuesday, Aug. 15, more than 725 FFA members and agriculture leaders packed over 193,000 meals on Missouri Farmers Care Food Drive $2 Tuesday at the Missouri State Fair.
Food banks consistently report that protein is the most requested item for families. Through the partnership’s Hogs for Hunger initiative, swine exhibitors and producers are invited to commit pigs to feed neighbors in need. Exhibitors and producers donated 16,484 servings of pork in 2024. Drive to Feed Kids donations are distributed through Feeding Missouri, the association of Missouri’s six regional food banks.
“Our six food banks are working tirelessly to ensure that no child in our state needs to wonder where their next meal will come from,” says Heather Hargrove, Executive Director of Feeding Missouri. “However, rising food prices are making it harder for families to put food on the table, and more neighbors are turning to the more than 1,200 community and faith-based programs supported by the food banks. To ensure our network can continue providing hunger relief to these programs, our food banks rely on partnerships and initiatives like Missouri Farmers Care and the Drive to Feed Kids to keep our shelves stocked and ensure no child has to go to bed hungry in Missouri.”
Fairgoers participated in the Missouri Farmers Care Food Drive Day at the Missouri State Fair by bringing non-perishable food donations or cash donations on Missouri Farmers Care $2 Tuesday. For the State Fair’s Can Creation Contest, teams used canned food items donated by Woods Supermarket. Through these activities, 49,840 meals were donated to local pantries. In addition, Missouri FFA donated 636 pounds of fresh produce from FFA student projects on display at the fair.
The Missouri Farmers Care Drive to Feed Kids is made possible by: ADM, Brownfield Ag News, American Family Dreams Foundation, MFA Incorporated, FCS Financial, NutraBlend, Missouri Corn Merchandising Council, Missouri Farm Bureau, Martin Rice, Missouri FFA Foundation, Jerry Litton Family Memorial Foundation, Missouri Soybean Merchandising Council, Missouri State Fair Foundation, Missouri Pork Association, Missouri’s Electric Cooperatives, Forrest and Charlotte Lucas – founders of Protect the Harvest, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri State Fair, Missouri FFA, Feeding Missouri, Missouri 4-H and University of Missouri Extension, benevolent individuals and the contributions of Missouri farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses.
Drive to Feed Kids was launched in 2017, with the goal of building collaborative partnerships among non-profit organizations, farmers and agricultural businesses committed to addressing food insecurity in Missouri. To learn more about Missouri Farmers Care Foundation, the Drive to Feed Kids, and Hogs for Hunger visit www.MOFarmersCare.com/drive.
