St. Louis, Mo: Operation Food Search (OFS), a non-profit hunger relief organization, will host its 9th annual Shop Out Hunger Day on Sat., Aug. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  The region-wide food drive is held to restock the shelves of both its distribution center located at 1644 Lotsie Blvd. and its 220 community partner agencies.

 

Volunteers will be staffed outside of more than 140 locally owned grocery stores – including Dierbergs, Schnucks, and Straub’s – collecting non-perishable food items and donations that will stay in each store’s community.  OFS teams up with numerous community partners including Franklin County Hunger Task Force, Jefferson County Hunger Task Force, St. Charles Community Council, and area food pantries across 12 counties.

 

“We need our community’s help during the summer, which is typically a time when food donations are at their lowest,” said Operation Food Search Executive Director Kristen Wild.  “This annual food drive is one of our most successful campaigns thanks to the dedication of our volunteers and partnerships with our local grocery stores.”

 

Founded in 1981, Operation Food Search (OFS) is a hunger relief organization that provides food and nutrition education.  With a strategic focus aimed at ending childhood hunger, OFS empowers families with a range of programs and services proven to reduce food insecurity and increase access to healthy and affordable food.  The agency helps feed more than 200,000 individuals on a monthly basis – one-third of whom are children – through a network of 220 community partner agencies in 31 Missouri and Illinois counties.