SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Protein-rich foods are extremely important for—and frequently requested by—families struggling with hunger. Pasture-raised egg producer Vital Farms helps meet that need for food insecure individuals in southwest Missouri by making regular donations to Ozarks Food Harvest.
Since October 2016, Vital Farms has donated 12 million eggs to Ozarks Food Harvest. The company has provided more than 5 million eggs in 2019 alone. These donations help provide nutrition to families through The Food Bank’s network of 270 pantries, feeding sites and programs spanning 28 counties in the Ozarks.
“Ozarks Food Harvest has been a terrific partner for us since we joined the Springfield community in 2016. We appreciate the chance to work with them to address food insecurity in our region,” said Russell Diez-Canseco, president and CEO of Vital Farms.
Vital Farms’ eggs come from certified humane, pasture-raised hens. Each hen has a minimum of 108 square-feet to roam, is antibiotic-free and is able to forage outside year-round.
“We’ve been very fortunate to supply hungry families with farm-fresh, high-protein eggs from Vital Farms for the past few years,” said Bart Brown, president/CEO of Ozarks Food Harvest. “These donations have made a huge difference in the lives of the people we serve, and we could not be more grateful for this incredible partnership.”
In 2017, Vital Farms opened a 82,140 square-foot facility on 11 acres in Partnership Industrial Center West. This facility, Egg Central Station, is where eggs that come from the 200 small family farms Vital Farms works with are washed and packed. At Egg Central Station, eggs are also graded, inspected for quality, sorted and transported to more than 11,000 U.S. grocery stores nationwide. Learn more at vitalfarms.com.
About Ozarks Food Harvest — The Food Bank
Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 270 organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank provides more than 18.3 million meals annually to more than 261,000 unduplicated individuals. Learn more at ozarksfoodharvest.org, facebook.com/ozarksfoodharvest or twitter.com/ozksfoodharvest.
About Vital Farms
Vital Farms, a Certified B Corp, is a pioneer of pasture-raising, and offers a range of ethically sourced products nationwide. Started on a single farm in Austin, Texas in 2007, Vital Farms was recently recognized as a Forbes Small Giant due to their exceptional growth and conscious business practices. It is the leading producer of pasture-raised eggs in the country and in 2018 became the first brand to offer pasture-raised ready-to-eat hard-boiled eggs. Vital Farms eggs, butter and ghee butter are sold in more than 10,000 grocery stores nationwide.
