Harvest Outreach Ministries purchases new truck to benefit free food programs

HANNIBAL, Mo. (WGEM) - More people in Northeast Missouri will be fed now that a local ministry in Hannibal has a new truck.

Harvest Outreach Ministries runs a free food program, called Loaves and Fishes, out of a church at 1020 Lyon Street. At 5 p.m. every week day, you’ll see people going there for a free meal. Some of them are children.

“Single mothers at Birthright, we always refer them if they are having food problems during certain seasons of their life to come here. They can always get a hot or prepared meal Monday through Friday,” said Elise Burch, the Director of Birthright of Hannibal.

Burch is also a volunteer for the food programs.

The Loaves and Fishes program feeds around 100 people in Hannibal every day, which is twice as many as before the pandemic.

“We have doubled the amount of meals that we serve and so it’s just been a steady increase in that,” said Harvest Outreach Ministries Executive Director Larry Hinds.

The Community Foundation gave them $15,000 to help them purchase a new truck for their food programs. Hinds said by using the truck, they can pick up more donations from food banks.

Currently they drive to four places across the city just to get the food.

“We can actually expand that and be able to pass out more food through the Feeding America Program with having a newer truck that we can actually put on the road,” Hinds said.

Burch said she is happy the ministry will have a new truck to serve more people in the community.

“It’s always encouraging to see the community supporting this effort,” Burch said.

Hinds said they also got a grant from the Community Foundation to support residents at their sober living facilities. That money will ease their monthly costs.

Click here for more information about Harvest Outreach Ministries’ food programs.

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