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St. Louis, MO, October 06, 2019 –(PR.com)– Operation Food Search (OFS) recently raised $35,000 during its ninth annual Tomato Explosion. OFS partnered with Sauce magazine, Tony’s Family Farms, GiftAMeal, and nearly 120 local restaurants throughout the month of July when restaurants donated a portion of their sales from a special tomato-inspired dish. All proceeds went toward OFS’s work connecting kids to nutritious meals during the summer.

Tomato Explosion was created in 2011 as a tomato-centric partnership by Operation Food Search and the St. Louis restaurant community. It began with 13 participating restaurants and has continued to grow throughout the years. To date the event has raised more than $200,000 with proceeds benefitting OFS’s hunger relief efforts.

Leadership partners this year included Crushed Red, Dewey’s Pizza, Herbie’s, Kingside Diner, Mai Lee, Milque Toast Bar, and Mission Taco. Participating restaurants are located in Benton Park, Central West End, Chesterfield, Clayton, Columbia, Creve Coeur, Downtown, Frontenac, The Hill, Kirkwood, Lafayette Square, Maplewood, Midtown, Richmond Heights, Rock Hill, Soulard, South City, South Hampton, St. Charles/O’Fallon, University City/Delmar Loop, Webster Groves, West County, and Edwardsville, Ill.

Founded in 1981, Operation Food Search (OFS) is a hunger relief organization located at 1644 Lotsie Blvd. that provides food and nutrition education. With a strategic focus aimed at ending childhood hunger, OFS empowers families with a range of programs and services proven to reduce food insecurity and increase access to healthy and affordable food. The agency helps feed more than 200,000 individuals on a monthly basis – one-third of which are children through a network of 330 community partners in 31 Missouri and Illinois counties. For details, call (314) 726-5355.