Hickory County CARES established a pantry / distribution center in Wheatland, Missouri in late 2011. We set up a satellite location in Weaubleau and have opened another satellite location in Pittsburg in January 2015 to serve people on the south side of Lake Pomme de Terre. to noon Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The pantry receives USDA commodities once each month through Ozarks Food Harvest. We
also get additional free food from Ozarks Food Harvest and purchases food from the Ozarks Food Harvest about twice each month. The non-USDA food received from OFH is free or at a reduced cost. USDA food is free. Non-USDA food and food collected through food drives and donations go on the pantry shelves for distribution to those who have need other than on the regular monthly distribution day for USDA Commodities. We have 100 volunteers who check in patrons and sort, shelve, bag, and distribute food. On Commodity Day, they process 300 households from 8:00am to noon. On average, they process another 70 households each of the other weeks of the month. These are all processed in our 4,100 square foot building. We have the space, the equipment and the volunteer power to process not only food, but hygiene products as well. We also have the space to accommodate hygiene product storage. Hickory County CARES food pantry has no paid employees; it is operated by volunteers recruited from the community. Volunteers are trained by the Volunteer Coordinator. Assigned tasks include unloading and shelving food, bagging food for distribution, client check-in, carry-out assistance, housekeeping, hospitality, record keeping, etc. Working oversight is provided by an 11-member Board of Directors. Directors handle budgeting and ordering of food, publicity, financial record keeping, donor record keeping, fundraising, food bank liaison, strategic planning, etc. Directors were elected from the community and serve staggered terms of 3 years each. Volunteers and BOD members take advantage of training opportunities offered by Community Foundation of the Ozarks and by Ozarks Food Harvest. The number of households served has increased from 168 in late 2011 to 381 currently. The number of individuals served has increased from 333 to 820 over the same period. We have collaborated with several local organizations: Annual Dinner Benefits are held at the McCarty Senior Center. We collaborate with both Weaubleau and Pittsburg to offer food at their locations. Local fireman, schools and postal workers hold food drives for us. Local churches make hats, mittens, and scarves for us. Another local church made special bags with items for children. The Wheatland FFA group helped us move to our new location. We worked with the Hickory County Community Improvement Foundation and the Friends of Weaubleau Park on a golf outing fundraiser. We work with food drives with the Lucas Oil Speedway and the Hickory County Rendezvous. We have a solid base of support in our churches, businesses, civic groups, and private individuals; we receive substantial funding from all. We are a member of the Hermitage Chamber of Commerce. In 2015 we are collaborating with the McCarty Senior Center to join forces for the May 5, 2015 Ozarks Day of Giving. This collaborative effort is our first for participation in the event sponsored by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. We hope for great fundraising success for both organizations. A third organization, Hickory County Farmers Market, may also join with us in this effort. It has often been remarked that we are one of the truly wonderful success stories in Hickory County for getting the people and the funding necessary to help the many poor people in this, the 4th poorest county in Missouri. From our County Clerk's office I got the following statistics for the ranking of Counties in Missouri from their ranking database:
- Hickory County ranks 110th out of the 115 counties in Missouri in “Quality of Life”
- We rank 111th out of the 115 counties for “Social and Economic Factors”
- 42% of our children live in poverty
- In terms of “Child Abuse and Neglect”, we rank 101st
- And, finally, Hickory County has the highest proportion of its citizens over the age of 65 than any other county in Missouri
This is a county that must rely on others to help us meet the many needs that exist here.
2024 USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national
origin, s*x (including gender identity and s*xual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for
prior civil rights activity. Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities
who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through
the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD- 3027, USDA
Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at:
https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf
from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992
or by writing a letter addressed to USDA:
The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
1: mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2: fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
3: email: [email protected]
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
