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Missouri

Foundation Awards Grants to Missouri Youth Groups

Missouri Farmers Care Foundation's Drive to Feed Kids program funds local youth organizations working to address child hunger across northeast Missouri.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Philanthropy

Wooden crate of apples and squash on a pickup truck bed, with a Missouri cornfield and red barn in the background.
The Missouri Farmers Care Foundation awarded Drive to Feed Kids grants to several northeast Missouri youth groups, including FFA, FCCLA, 4-H, and student council chapters, to fight child hunger. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Do you think local youth groups are doing enough to fight hunger in your community?

The Missouri Farmers Care Foundation has awarded grants through its Drive to Feed Kids program to several northeast Missouri youth organizations, including FFA, FCCLA, 4-H, Student Council and NHS chapters. Grant-funded projects will begin in November 2026 and continue through the coming year.

Why it matters

The program supports youth-led hunger-relief efforts in communities across the state, where one in six Missouri children and families regularly face hunger. The grants require local organizations to raise matching funds and secure in-kind contributions, extending the impact beyond the award amounts themselves.

Individual grants range from $200 to $750, and recipients must raise matching funds and secure in-kind contributions. The Drive to Feed Kids program raised more than 825,000 meals statewide in 2026, though the total number of grants awarded was not reported.

The players

Missouri Farmers Care Foundation

A Missouri-based philanthropic organization that administers the Drive to Feed Kids matching grant program and supports youth hunger-relief efforts statewide.

The details

Recipients include Atlanta FFA and FCCLA, Knox County FFA and FCCLA, the Student Council in Edina, North Shelby FFA and NHS in Shelbyville, and Sunshine Kids 4-H in Unionville. The matching grant structure asks local groups to lead hunger-relief work in their own communities.

Timeline

  1. 2026: Drive to Feed Kids program raised more than 825,000 meals statewide.

  2. November 2026: Grant-funded projects are scheduled to begin.

  3. The coming year: Grant-funded projects continue.

Philanthropy Trajectory

The Drive to Feed Kids program addresses the reality that one in six Missouri children and families regularly face hunger, a rate that private matching grants aim to offset through local youth organizations. By requiring recipients to raise matching funds and in-kind contributions, the foundation channels philanthropic dollars into community-led hunger relief across the state.

Missouri families and students who benefit from these projects will see local food-drive and meal programs launched through FFA, 4-H and school groups. Community members can support similar efforts by contributing to local youth hunger-relief organizations that seek matching funds.

The takeaway

Local youth organizations can multiply the impact of private grants by securing matching funds and in-kind donations from their own communities. Residents who want to help can connect with FFA, 4-H or school groups running hunger-relief projects near them.

What happens next

Grant-funded projects are scheduled to begin in November 2026 and continue through the coming year.

Further reading

For more on giving across the state, explore Philanthropy coverage on Wisevoter.

Live Poll

Do you think local youth groups are doing enough to fight hunger in your community?