JEFFERSON CITY  — The St. Louis Area Food Bank is scheduled to receive just over $1.4 million in coronavirus relief assistance, according to an Oct. 21 announcement from the governor’s office.

St. Louis Area Food Bank’s delivery truck was in Owensville on Friday to deliver an October shipment of food stocks through the Helping Hands Outreach Center’s Mobile Market project. The center’s regular shipment of commodities was delivered the previous week.

The St. Louis Area Foodbank is set to receive $1,462,145 of the $5 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to be divided among Missouri’s six regional food banks to help citizens who continue to rely on food assistance.

The food banks serve the needs of more than 1,000 food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, and other meal sites across the state.

“Protecting the health and well-being of Missourians is a key component of our Show Me Strong Recovery Plan,” said Gov. Mike Parson said in a press release. “This additional funding for food banks will help ensure continued access to good nutrition for Missouri’s vulnerable citizens during these challenging times.”

The $5 million will be distributed between the Harvesters Community Food Network ($990,413), Ozarks Food Harvest ($925,073), Second Harvest Community Food Bank ($359,288), Southeast Missouri Food Bank ($504,818), St. Louis Area Foodbank ($1,462,145), The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri ($708,263), and Feeding Missouri ($50,000). Feeding Missouri will use funding from the CARES Act for training, technical assistance, and reporting, according to the governor’s office.

Operation Christmas applications being accepted

Applications for services during the 2020 Operation Christmas campaign are now being accepted at the Helping Hands Outreach Center of Gasconade County. Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, Nov. 25.

Family adoptions will begin Tuesday, Nov. 3. The closing date for adopting a family is also on Nov. 25. Due to the threat of the coronavirus, a group gift-wrapping project will not be conducted this year. Instead, those who purchase gifts for families they have adopted will be asked to wrap them following specific Operation Christmas guidelines.

Members of the planning committee repaired food collection boxes Monday evening. Those go out  Friday to area businesses, schools, and churches. Final collection is Dec. 11.