By Kylie Burks

SPRINGFIELD, MO—Students at Rountree Elementary School have joined the fight to end hunger across the city of Springfield by participating in a citywide food drive put on by the Ozark Food Harvest.

“It’s super important to give back to our community and it’s a good lesson to teach the kids,” Rountree’s school counselor Rachel Swadley said. “We talk about how their donations can really help families who don’t have access to nutritious foods.”

Ozark Food Harvest’s Food Fight is a citywide fundraiser to gather nonperishable food items from schools, churches and other participating organizations. According to their website, the food will go to school and community food pantries that the bank supports to address the needs of those who may not have enough to eat. This includes pantries located in public schools across Southwest Missouri.

“Initiatives like the Weekend Backpack Program, After-School Food & Summer Food programs also help feed at-risk kids over the weekends, after school hours and during the summertime, when children do not have access to free or reduced meal programs at school,” the website said.

The food drive at Rountree Elementary began on March 3 and ended March 13. The school asked students to bring foods like canned meat, fruits, and vegetables, peanut butter, rice, pasta and cereal, according to the school’s website.

“We set up a box for each class in the main hallway and we promote it for two weeks by encouraging kids to bring in nonperishable food items and we have a party for the class that brings in the most food items,” Swadley said.

The children took the challenge to raise food and added their own personal flairs by hand picking foods they liked so that other kids could enjoy them too.

“Some of them brough in box cake mix and birthday candles because they [think] there are families that probably can’t afford a cake for their child, so now they can have one because [they] brought a box in,” Swadley said.

The Ozark Food Harvest partnering with Rountree Elementary is just one example of how people in Springfield are working to address the high poverty rate citywide.

A housing state of calamity was reinstated in February in response to Springfield’s poverty rate being 19.4%, significantly higher than the state average of 12% according to senior city planner Bob Atchley at a recent city council meeting.

This statistic includes children, which is something Swadley has been able to address through the Food Fight by providing food for kids in need and by giving those kids the opportunity to join their classmates in donating food even if their family couldn’t afford it.

“We are able to seek out students who we didn’t realize were going through [food insecurity] and get them the help they need,” Swadley said. “I know of some teachers who have gone out and bought food for a specific kid in their class who wants to participate but can’t necessarily contribute with the stuff they have at home.”

While city council members hope to take meaningful action against poverty by focusing on the housing crisis, organizations like Ozark Food Harvest will continue to serve the community with food and clothing, and Rountree Elementary will remain on the forefront of the fight.