Last updated on March 25th, 2021 at 07:18 pm
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, a Feeding America food bank.
Since October 2016, Austin, Texas-based Vital Farms has donated 12 million eggs to Ozarks Food Harvest. These donations help provide nutrition to families through the food bank’s network of 270 pantries, feeding sites and programs covering 28 counties in the Ozarks. It offers more than 18.3 million meals annually.
“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-s.f. 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 and 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 an 82,140-s.f. facility on 11 acres in Partnership Industrial Center West. This facility, known as Egg Central Station, is where eggs that come from the 200 small family farms are washed, packed, graded, inspected for quality, sorted and transported to more than 11,000 U.S. grocery stores nationwide.
