Hello everyone and happy March!

The spring semester is going quickly—almost halfway through! In this month’s blog post, we are going to learn about community partners. Bear Pantry benefits from donors and our community partners, including Ozarks Food Harvest, Amanda Belle’s Farm, and the MSU Campus Garden. Let’s take a look at these important organizations and the work they do!

Ozarks Food Harvest

Ozarks Food Harvest (OFH) is a food bank located in Southwest Missouri, serving 270 hunger relief agencies in 28 surrounding counties¹. Currently, there are many programs offered through OFH, including²:

• Weekend Backpack Program
• After-School Food
• Summer Food
• Senior Food Boxes
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP)
• Full Circle Gardens

We are supported by OFH through:

• Weekly deliveries or pick-ups (this is our main source of food)
• Purchased and donated product (product in orders is split between purchased and donated product, which is the reason our product is ever changing)
• Impact ($1.93 = 1 pound of food, so our money goes further spending donor dollars at OFH)

Food Bank vs. Food Pantry

What is the difference between a food bank and a food pantry? A food bank has a large supply of food (similar to a bank having a large supply of money). A food pantry distributes portions of that food (similar to getting a withdrawal of money from your bank account and spending that). Ozarks Food Harvest is a food bank and the Bear Pantry is a food pantry!

Springfield Community Gardens

Springfield Community Gardens is a non-profit that has 16 community gardens, 3 urban farms, a community food forest, and test kitchen within the Springfield area³. Amanda Belle’s Farm and the Missouri State University Campus Garden are both part of Springfield Community Gardens.

Amanda Belle’s Farm

In collaboration with Cox Health, Amanda Belle’s Farm sits on a plot of land just between Cox South and Kickapoo High School. The main program offered through Amanda Belle’s is their CSA (or Community Supported Agriculture) boxes. These are available for purchase by Cox Health employees for weekly pickup during the growing season. Community Supported Agriculture is “a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation so that the farmland becomes, either legally or inspirit, the community’s farm; with the growers and consumers providing mutual support and sharing the risks and benefits of food production” according to the United State Department of Agriculture (or USDA).⁴

So, how does the CSA program benefit Bear Pantry? Well, each week, all boxes that have not been claimed by the end of the pick-up window by Cox Health employees are available for Bear Pantry. The amount and type of produce varies weekly and the product from the boxes supplies our Friday “Produce Pop-Ups”. 

Missouri State University Campus Garden

Last, but certainly not least, the MSU Campus Garden is a great supporter of the Bear Pantry, providing fresh produce during the growing season. Campus Garden is supported by the Sustainability Commission through Student Government Association (SGA). It is located just across Grand Street from the main campus (street address is on Normal Street). The garden welcomes volunteers for harvesting during the growing season. More information here: get involved with campus garden!  

Those are a few of our community partners. Donors, along with community partners, are a large reason we are able to serve the campus community. We value all supporters of the Bear Pantry! 

Don’t forget to follow us on social media!  

• Instagram: @mostatebearpantry & @mostatecce  
• TikTok: @bearpantry  
• Like us on Facebook: Bear Pantry   
• YouTube: @mostatebearpantry   
• LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/bearpantrymsu   

Resources: 

1. Ozarks Food Harvest. (n.d.). About us. Ozarks Food Harvest. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://ozarksfoodharvest.org/about/.  
2. Ozarks Food Harvest. (n.d.). Member agencies. Ozarks Food harvest. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://ozarksfoodharvest.org/about/our-network/member-agencies/.  
3. Springfield Community Gardens. (n.d.). Our local community gardens. Springfield Community Gardens. Retrieved February 24, 2025, from https://www.springfieldcommunitygardens.org/gardens. 
4. U.S. Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Community supported agriculture. National Agricultural Library. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.nal.usda.gov/farms-and-agricultural-production-systems/community-supported-agriculture.
5. Missouri State University. (n.d.). Campus garden. Missouri State University. Retrieved February 25, 2025, from https://www.missouristate.edu/Sustainability/campus-garden.htm.