A food pantry in Franklin County needs help [Video]

The nonprofit helps residents in Gerald, Leslie, Beaufort, and Rosebud.

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Mo. — The director of the Community Outreach of Gerald, Missouri, Michelle Glosser, gathered 25 volunteers on Friday for their monthly food drive.

Cars lined the roads leading to 17 East 4th Street for free food in the middle of one of Missouri’s food deserts.

The Community Outreach fed over 200 families despite donations dwindling over the past four years.

The small town of Gerald has a population of around 1,300 and has been home to this nonprofit for 20 years, helping surrounding towns like Leslie, Beaufort, and Rosebud along the way.

“The need is ever increasing,” Glosser said. “Pre-COVID we served 25-30 families a week, and since COVID the need is ever increased to where now we’re at about 75 families a week but at the same time, the donations have went down.”

“Even our main contributor, which is Operation Food Search… has drastically changed,” Glosser said.

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