Ozark Adventures: A Journey to Combat Hunger in Our Community

What do traveling and volunteering share in common? Alex Brozowski from Expedia encapsulates it this way, “Travel enables us to understand that, at the end of the day, we all share the same essential requirements.” And what requirement is more fundamental than sustenance? During Expedia’s Month of Caring this September, employees made the link by volunteering to assemble food at Ozarks Food Harvest.

Expedia Group is convinced that travel acts as a positive force. Traveling allows us to connect with individuals worldwide, but Expedia also acknowledges the significance of contributing back to their local areas. This is why they provide their employees the chance to volunteer during their Global Month of Caring.

This September, 96 Expedia staff members assisted in sorting and packaging food for distribution to our neighbors who are confronting hunger. Their dedicated efforts resulted in over 60,000 meals for children, families, and seniors in southwest Missouri.

Following their volunteering experience, Alex and his colleagues toured The Food Bank, where Alex realized, “I think something that was very clearly illustrated through what your organization accomplishes is that, if we exert ourselves, we can attain a lot. The volunteer work that’s undertaken is critically important because there’s so much complexity to what you all do.”

He is correct. It can sometimes be challenging to grasp the number of individuals in our communities who are battling hunger, and it might seem like an issue too vast to address. However, The Food Bank exists because we hold the belief that every individual deserves access to the nourishment they require to flourish, and our volunteers are vital in eradicating hunger in southwest Missouri.

As Alex expressed, “As a community, we can cater to everyone, but it indeed requires effort to achieve.”

Many thanks to every Expedia volunteer who contributed to ensuring their neighbors have access to healthy food – the essential need that unites us all. Your contributions, both at work and at The Food Bank, help maintain our connections with our neighbors here at home and across the globe.

Discover more about group volunteering at ozarksfoodharvest.org/volunteer.