Southwest Missouri Sustainable Food Management Summit

The City of Springfield Solid Waste Management Department recognizes that food waste is a multi-faceted issue for the community. To help reduce the impacts of wasted food, the City has established a home composting program and a commercial composting program.  Additionally, the City provides information about proper food storage, "past their time" recipes, and compost tips.

Dish to Dirt  Food Matters   

The Community Partnership seeks to facilitate and promote the building of resilient children, healthy families, and strong neighborhoods & communities through collaboration, programming and resource development. 

The Food Collaborative supports the development of a healthy, functioning local food system, bringing food groups together and representing all parts of the community, including those not at the table.

Crosslines is the largest client-direct food pantry in Greene County, MO, and features a client-choice model different from other pantries. Online or in-person guests have a grocery store experience — guests can select items that better fit their personal tastes and dietary restrictions.

The Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security seeks to better understand and address the causes and consequences of hunger and food insecurity. Through research, engagement, and teaching they seek to build food secure communities in Missouri and beyond.

Food Assistance and Hunger in the Heartland 2021, an unprecedented study by the University of Missouri Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security, highlights the role of hunger relief programs and the characteristics of households who receive support at food pantries. 

Missouri Hunger Atlas  Food Systems Network  Farm to Institution  Missouri EATs  Grow Well Missouri   Healthy Shelves  Power Up Your Pantry (food pantries)

The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (MDHSS) is a hub for programs and resources for families and seniors in Missouri, including a variety of food programs.

Food Recovery Programs  

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Waste and Recycling department works with individuals, businesses, industry, governments and schools to make sure they know how to safely collect, handle, store and dispose of both their solid and hazardous wastes, including information on reducing food waste and composting 

Find Your Solid Waste Management District  Solid Waste Management Map  

The Missouri Recycling Association (MORA) provides value by connecting people, offering industry insights, and influencing policy to support our economy and business in extracting the highest and best use of materials at end of life, including food waste.

Food Waste Resources  

Missouri is divided into 20 solid waste management districts. The districts were created to foster regional cooperation between cities and counties in managing solid waste. The districts help plan and implement recycling services and other alternatives to waste disposal at the local level. They also administer waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting grants to support these efforts.

Learn more and find your local Solid Waste Management District

The Ozarks Environmental and Water Resources Institute (OEWRI) provides technical expertise, analytical capability, and student training to support environmental research, watershed monitoring programs, and watershed group activities in the Ozarks. It directs and collaborates on research projects aimed at solving runoff, channel network, and water quality and supply problems by working in partnership and cooperation with university researchers, environmental groups, local communities, and government agencies.

Ozarks Food Harvest is the Feeding America food bank for southwest Missouri, serving 270 hunger-relief organizations across 28 Ozarks counties. The Food Bank reaches nearly 50,000 individuals monthly and provides more than 20 million meals annually.

Ozarks Food Harvest receives, processes and distributes enough food for nearly 2 million meals each month. That’s enough food to fill 73 semi-trucks, carrying $2.75 million worth of groceries to a network of 270 charities every month. The majority of the food received is donated. These donations are inspected and repacked by about 1,650 volunteers each year.  The Food Bank also offers six feeding programs and two additional donation programs, beyond food distribution for a network of partners across 28 counties.

Full Circle Gardens  Retail Pick-Up Program  How to Help  Need Help?  

The Ozarks Headwaters Recycling and Materials Management District (OHRD) service region consists of Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster counties in Southwest Missouri. 

Grant Opportunities  

The Springfield Community Gardens (SCG) seek to create a community where everyone has access to healthy, local food.  By working together, SCG impacts the local food system.

• 16 Community Gardens, 3 Urban Farms, and 1 Test Kitchen
• Farm Incubator Program
• Produce Distribution
• Youth Programs

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department (SGCHD) seeks to protect and improve community health through education, collaboration and prevention.  Among many health topics, the SGCHD focuses on healthy lifestyles for children and the community.

Food Support Viewer  Food Security  Healthy Meal Planning  

MU Extension provides a variety of resources to help communities, including businesses and individuals, reduce the amount of wasted food.

Food Systems  Reduce Food Waste Fact Sheet  Resources