Food Access Starts With People

VETERANS + FAMILIES + NEIGHBORS

2026 - 2028 Strategic Initiative
Building Resilience in Missouri’s Rural Food Deserts

When Food Systems No Longer Reach

Every person, in every community, deserves access to the food they need to thrive.

Across rural Missouri, long travel distances, limited transportation, and reliance on a small number of food access points force neighbors to spend their time, energy, and food dollars outside their own communities just to meet basic needs.

The result is increased vulnerability to disruption, isolation, and weakened local support—realities faced by more than 900,000 Missourians each year, including nearly one in five children (source: Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap).

When distance determines access, food systems become fragile—and communities pay the cost.

Solutions Anchored in Community

GOTURSIX is a Veteran-founded 501(c)(3) nonprofit strengthening rural food systems through locally rooted, community-driven solutions in southwest Missouri.

Located within the service area of Ozarks Food Harvest—which serves 28 Ozarks counties—we work alongside existing food access partners to shorten distance, reduce dependence on fragile systems, and keep resources circulating locally.

Feedback from our 2025 year of service led us to refine our strategic focus toward the most urgent and shared need identified by Veterans, Families, and Neighbors alike: reliable food access close to home.

Consistency matters. When food access is predictable and nearby:

  • Isolation decreases

  • Participation increases

  • Neighbors are better able to care for one another

Through shared spaces and local participation, food reaches people in multiple ways:

  • Shared meals

  • Locally produced food

  • Blessings Boxes

  • Mobile pop-ups

  • Deliveries

  • Volunteer-supported connection

These touchpoints support dignity while strengthening local capacity.

With sustained investment and full implementation of our 2026–2028 strategic plan, GOTURSIX anticipates a 50–75% improvement in local food-system resilience, reflected in greater consistency, redundancy, and neighbor-to-neighbor support during disruption.

Hellbender Third Space : Where Food Access Takes Shape

Named for the endangered and resilient Ozark Hellbender, the Hellbender Third Space is rooted in a simple belief: communities thrive when the conditions that sustain them are protected.

Based in Hartville, Missouri, the Third Space brings together:

  • Food access

  • Local production

  • Shared gathering

  • Recreation and learning

We start with food—because shared nourishment builds trust. From there, participation grows, connections deepen, and resilience takes hold.

The Hellbender Third Space is not a single program. It is a network of shared spaces and experiences designed to bring food closer to people and neighbors closer to one another.

When people are fed, they show up better—for themselves and for each other.

Why This Matters

Food shouldn’t be a long drive or a hard ask.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, many Missouri communities qualify as food deserts—places where a grocery store is more than 10 miles away. In these areas, food access depends on time, distance, and systems that can fail quickly.

Strengthening access closer to home reduces risk, increases resilience, and keeps communities connected when larger systems fall short.

YES! I want to support GOTURSIX.org

  • Eat Local

    Food produced close to home and shared through meals and food access efforts.

  • Community Gardens

    Fresh food grown together, season by season, to strengthen local food access.

  • Woodshop Maker Space

    Shared tools and skills for making useful goods and supporting food access.

  • Shared Prosperity

    Local partnerships that support small businesses, makers, and growers while keeping value circulating in the community.

  • Disc Golf: Open AUG 1, 2026

    Wright County’s first disc golf course, bringing people to Hartville through one of the fastest-growing outdoor sports and reinvesting play into food access.

  • Kombucha bottles with dates.

    Community Kitchen: 2027

    Shared meals and food access today, with a kitchen being built in 2027 to support local food processing and gathering.

  • Country Store: 2027

    Coming 2027: A mercantile where local food and handmade goods are sold, keeping dollars close to home and supporting food access.

FOOD SHOULDN’T BE A LONG DRIVE OR A HARD ASK

Map of the State of Missouri with Food Deserts, communities where a grocery store is more than 10 miles away. Food access depends on distance, time, and a fragile food system with very few options.

This USDA map shows how far many Missourians have to go just to buy groceries. The highlighted areas represent communities where food access depends on distance, time, and systems that can fail quickly—underscoring the importance of strengthening access closer to home.

  • Food opens the door, but trust is what actually feeds people.

    —Hellbender Volunteer

  • They truly understand Veterans and I consider them family. Thank you for helping me.

    —2025 Veteran-in-Resident

  • It’s not just about eating. It’s about not being forgotten.

    —Ron, GOTURSIX Founder

Thank You, Veterans and Families.

Named after the Ozark Hellbender, a rare and resilient giant salamander,
the Hellbender Third Space is
dedicated to those who served and those who have their back.