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In the Lake Ozark region amidst vast lake shorelines and rolling hills sits Camden County, a resilient community. Like others across the nations, many residents of Camden County experience - or know someone who is experiencing - food insecurity.
While Camden County is renowned for its natural beauty, drawing thousands of visitors each summer, the struggle for many locals is less visible. The area's rising cost of living has made it even more difficult for some residents to make ends meet. In fact, Camden County, along with neighboring Benton and Morgan Counties, has more food insecure residents than Missouri's average rate of 15%.*
Although food insecurity is keeping pace at a concerning rate in Camden County, it has been a persistent issue for decades. Recognizing this about 14 years ago, local leaders in Camden County joined with The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri to take action against hunger and support their neighbors.
The Camden Mobile Market was originally the brainchild of The Food Bank which piloted the Mobile Market program throughout Central and Northeast Missouri in 2004. The Mobile Market program's purpose is to give food access to neighbors, at no cost, who may live in an area without accessible brick-and-mortar pantries, or areas where the amount of need is higher than local brick-and-mortar pantries can provide.
Turning this from an idea into the solidified program it is today requires more than The Food Bank’s trucks, drivers, and food supply. Mobile Markets require the dedicated partnership of many volunteer members and volunteer groups, whose compassion and commitment to helping those facing hunger would stay steadfast month to month, throughout the changing seasons.
Today, Anita Fleis serves at the heart of this team and has been leading volunteer efforts for this Mobile Market for over a decade. She was brought into this effort, alongside her husband, by the late Bill Fleis, who originally partnered with The Food Bank to pilot the Camden County Mobile Market in Camdenton.
The Camden County Mobile Market initially began operating near Camden County transitional housing on Highway 5, before eventually relocating to its current location at The Church at Osage Hills.
The move was inspired by the challenges Anita and other leaders saw volunteers facing.
“There are a lot of the volunteers who are retired, and carrying big boxes of food to a car was pretty taxing. So… We started chatting with the church in Osage Hills about moving it to their parking lot… and we successfully moved it there,” Anita says.
The Camden County Mobile Market at The Church at Osage Hills is a unique mobile distribution, compared to others hosted by The Food Bank, as they have adopted their own model to efficiently share food with neighbors who visit.
The Church at Osage Hills purchased and stores shopping carts near the parking lot, to then which volunteers are able to fill each cart based on household size, and then bring the cart to a designated vehicle to load food items into the car. This method has served them well, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This seems to be working efficiently, and we still can have the fellowship, and people could feel served, and we didn't have to worry about who was getting out of their cars and who wasn't…” Anita says of their low-contact distribution model.
This model has also helped them serve households equitably and efficiently while keeping up with high need. On average, the Camden County Mobile Market distribution serves over 400 individuals per month.
“We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I’m honored to serve our community in this way,” says lead volunteer and Church of the Osage Hills Children‘s Pastor, LaDonna Beckmeyer.
At its core, this effort is rooted in a long-standing tradition of compassion from individuals who are deeply committed to supporting those facing hunger in their community. Though the need in this area is great, The Food Bank is able to fulfill its mission thanks to the tireless dedication of volunteers who make this work possible—month after month, year after year, through every season and every challenge.
The Camden County Mobile Market holds particular significance for Anita, who continues this work in honor of her late husband. “It’s very much a passion of mine. It was an even larger passion for my husband, whom I lost to leukemia seven and a half years ago. My hope is that it always continues on,” she shares.
The Food Bank is immensely grateful for the ongoing commitment of remarkable volunteers like Anita and her fellow team members, whose collective efforts make this work possible.
*Feeding America’s 2022 Map the Meal Gap Study