Cassville Pantry strives to connect persons in need with nutritious food to fuel daily activities at home, work, and school to provide energy for life.

Highlighting the need for support to fight hunger during September, which is national Hunger Action Month, Cassville Pantry is asking for partnership and support for this effort. Director Janet Mills describes the need for food assistance from the food pantry as ‘the substance that powers all aspects of daily living and productivity.’

She hopes to foster deeper engagement from the community and to build awareness for the cause of fighting hunger during a call for the community at large to take action against hunger during September 2024.

Mills said the Pantry has consistently meets the needs of the food insecure community in Barry County.

“The Pantry has cared for those in need through various times and trials, including economic and environmental challenges including weather related events such as flooding and ice storms,’ she said. ‘When Cassville was suddenly hit by the damages of the 2024 Memorial Day storm, a large percentage of the local population lost power for multiple days. Hundreds of individuals and families lost all of their perishable food as a result.

‘The Pantry wholeheartedly responded to the emergency situation by addressing the needs of those who found themselves struggling to have enough food to eat. Everyone who experienced some degree of an extended power failure might remember and hold onto that feeling as an enlightening and teaching moment. It revealed a glimpse into what it feels like to not have enough food to eat, while also not having any control over those circumstances.’

Mills said it is not unusual for many households facing hunger to deal with a similar scenario of food deprivation beyond their control, only encountering it on a regular basis.

‘During the aftermath of the storm in late May and June, the Pantry resourced food for hundreds of individuals who could not afford to purchase replacement food at that time,’ she said. ‘The Pantry became an emergency recovery destination, serving as a tool for survival during an emotional and troubling time.’

Demand upon Pantry resources continues to rise. An uptick in need has coincided with the increasing cost of groceries. Retired and disabled persons who are forced to live on fixed incomes are struggling to keep up with the cost of their living expenses.

Forced to make choices between paying for medicine, medical care, transportation expenses, utilities, or groceries, often food is the one area where families cut down in their spending and by default are going hungry as a result. Many Pantry visitors explain that multiple generations and multiple families have moved in together to try to share income in order to stretch coverage of expenses in order to survive.

Cassville Pantry has been serving an average of 600 families comprised of 1,675 individuals every month in 2024. Feeding this many families involves circulating a great deal of food product inventory taken in, sourced, and ultimately distributed by the food bank.

In order to continue this threshold of provision, the Pantry is asking for the community’s help to nourish the food insecure. Monthly sponsorships are a powerful means to support the well-being of the community helping build stronger and healthier lives.

The Pantry has set a goal to raise $15,000 during the September Hunger Action Month Fundraising effort.

‘Every donation, no matter how small, does make a difference and delivers nutrition, hope and encouragement,’ Mills said.

Cassville Pantry is asking for support to “fillthe- basket” allowing for the shelves to be stocked and the outpouring of food assistance to continue to meet the heightened demand. A $50 donation will fill a basket and provide 5 days of food for a family.

Donated funds can be dropped off in person at the agency located at 800 W. 10th St., Cassville, MO, mailed USPS to the same address, or made online at the Pantry website: https://www.cassvillepantry. com/.

Residents are also encouraged to stay tuned in to Pantry activities via Facebook at https:// www.facebook.com/cassville. pantry/.

People may call Mills at 417-846-7871 for more information.

‘The true cost of hunger is suffering and lack of productivity,’ Mills said. ‘Partner with the Pantry to fight hunger through donations, volunteering and by sharing our story.”