- What is Operation Food Search?
Established in 1981 to address the growing problem of hunger, Operation Food Search has become the largest distributor of free food in the bi-state region helping to feed the region's poor.
- How does Operation Food Search fight hunger?
Each and every month Operation Food Search distributes more than one million pounds of food and household items to more than 300 community partner agencies that in turn feed 100,000 poor people every single month. Nearly half the recipients are children.
- What are the programs at Operation Food Search?
The Warehouse Distribution Program is the heart of OFS, where millions of pounds of donated food is sorted, boxed, and provided free of charge to our partner agencies.
Kitchen Link. This program recovers leftover prepared food.
Hunger Hotline. This service operates 24 hours, 7 days a week to serve those hungry and in need.
Operation Frontline. Nutrition education program for low-income adults and children.
April Showers. Annually, OFS collaborates with the Girl Scout Council of Greater St. Louis to receive and distribute personal care items.
Warner's Warm-Up. Kurt Warner's First Things First Foundation spearheads an annual winter coat collection to benefit people in need.
- Where does Operation Food Search get the food?
Food and grocery products are collected from food drives, discounted purchases, and donations from the grocery industry, manufacturers, and distributors. We also recover leftover prepared food from dining facilities such as employee cafeterias, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, schools and universities, as well as events.
- What kind of food is donated?
Collected food is both perishable and shelf stable. It is a real win/win situation for everyone involved because it is food that is no longer saleable but still nutritious and edible.
- Does Operation Food Search accept home prepared food?
Unfortunately we are unable to accept food that is prepared at home. However, we are able to accept food from your professionally catered events.
- How does Operation Food Search distribute food?
Food is distributed to our 300+ partner agencies. Perishable pick-up days are every Tuesday and Thursday. Non-perishables are distributed every other week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Periodically, there are special distributions. Food pick-ups directly from our donors are also arranged.
- How can my organization become a member agency?
Agency training is a free 6-hour program. If you intend to serve hot meals, Serve Safety certification is required. This 10-hour training program is offered at no cost to our member agencies. There is a book fee. Contact Marie Corno (314) 726-5355 x 16 or mcorno@ofsearch.org for more information.
- Do hungry people eat at Operation Food Search?
Operation Food Search is a food bank, not a food pantry. We do not directly serve food to hungry people. That service is provided by our partner agencies.
- If I am hungry, how can I get food?
If you are in need of food assistance, please call the Hunger Hotline (314) 726-5355 x 1. The Hunger Hotline is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day to find information on where to find food assistance as well as other kinds of help. Each month more than 1,000 callers receive help from the Hunger Hotline.
- If I am in need of other kinds of help, what can I do?
If you are in need of counseling, utility, rent, homeless, furniture, abuse, child care, legal or health assistance, please call the Hunger Hotline (314) 726-5355 x 1. The Hunger Hotline is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day to find information on where to find food assistance as well as other kinds of help.
- How many individuals are served each month?
Monthly, 100,000 people are served by Operation Food Search
- How is Operation Food Search funded?
Individuals, corporations, foundations and organizations provide financial support. For every dollar donated, we provide $17 worth of goods and services to our non-profit agencies. An incredible 99% of our revenue is used for program services.
- How is the money used?
- What kind of facilities does Operation Food Search have?
Warehouse-6282 Olive Blvd.
- 25,000 square foot food distribution center with 2 loading docks
- 17,700 square feet of dry storage
- 19,500 cubic foot freezer
- 5,000 cubic foot freezer
Vechicles
- One 2005 Freightliner refrigerated truck with 12 pallet capacity
- One 1996 Ford refrigerated truck with ten pallet capacity
- One 1997 Mitsubishi truck with eight pallet capacity
- Two 2006 cargo vans
- One passenger van
- How can I help?
Volunteer: More than 2,006 volunteers gave 10,652 hours this year to help people in need.
Donate Money
Donate Food/ Other non-grocery products
Birthday in a box
Food Drive
- How do I hold a food drive?
- What is hunger?
The Food Research Action Center defines hunger as the uneasy or painful sensation caused by lack of food. When "Hunger in America" is discussed, people are referring to the recurrent and involuntary lack of access to sufficient food due to poverty or constrained resources, which can lead to malnutrition over time.
In some developing nations where famine is widespread, hunger manifests itself as severe and very visible clinical malnutrition. In the United States hunger manifests itself, generally, in a less severe form. While starvation seldom occurs in this country, children and adults do go hungry and chronic under-nutrition does occur when financial resources are low. The mental and physical changes that accompany inadequate food intakes can have harmful effects on learning, development, productivity, physical and psychological health and family life.
- How much hunger is there?
In its last report published October of 2004, the U. S. Department of Agriculture reported that 89% of American households were food secure throughout the entire year in 2003. Food secure means they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households, 11.2%, were food insecure at least some time during that year.
According to the most recent U. S. Census Bureau report:
- In Missouri, 11.3% or 630,617 live in poverty
- In Illinois, 11.3% or 1,411,869 live in poverty
- In the City of St. Louis alone, 21.6% or 70,560 live in poverty
The poverty threshold for a family of two adults and two children is $19,350 before taxes.
- How are children affected by hunger?
Nutrition affects a child's cognitive, social and emotional development. Children who do not get the nutritious food their bodies need are more likely to have problems learning, growing and interacting.
According to the fifth edition of the Children of Metropolitan St. Louis report is that within the St. Louis Metropolitan region large disparities exist in the status and well-being of children. There are about 500,000 children under the age of 18 in the four core urban counties of the St. Louis region (St. Louis City and County in Missouri; Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois). Some of those children are doing quite well, while others fare very poorly. More than one-quarter of the half million children at the heart of the metropolitan region – in excess of 125,000 young people - live in zip codes where risk levels to their well-being are severe.
- Is there a connection between hunger and obesity?
In the United States, there is a paradox between hunger and obesity. This is a result of the trade off between food quantity and quality and overeating when food is available. The body can also compensate for periodic food shortages by becoming more efficient at storing calories as fat.
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