Touring the New Food Bank Facility

Today I attended the open house of the expanded Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. I left behind half of a green smoothie shot, a segment of an eggroll in sauce and part of the couscous under the piece of shrimp I managed to eat before all of it fell on the concrete floor. The food that I managed to eat while juggling everything prior to dropping it was delicious. Not to let a good (?) metaphor go to waste, my midmorning hunger and disappointment at not being able to eat seemed petty compared to those who face hunger and food insecurity every day. The need is great, and the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma is addressing that need.

Summer can be especially stressful for children who don’t have enough to eat.

According to Food Bank statistics:

• 60% of Oklahoma students rely on free or reduced-cost school lunch programs. They lose access to these meals during the summer months.
• Oklahoma is one of 15 states that opted out of the summer EBT program, which assists families during summer months when kids are at home.
• Rising costs of groceries, rent and utilities make it more difficult for families to buy food.

Oklahoma has one of the highest rates of hunger in the nation.

Oklahoma is one of five states with a food insecurity rate above 14.1%. One in five kids in Oklahoma struggles daily with hunger. You may be surprised to learn that eastern Oklahoma is one of the nation’s most food-insecure areas for young children.

The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma helps our hungry neighbors through a variety of programs: the Food for Kids, Backpack & School Pantry Programs; Summer Meals Programs; Senior Programs; a Mobile Market; SNAP Outreach; Oklahoma Farm to Table. The Food Bank houses a large warehouse and freezer, and an enhanced area for partner agency distribution and shopping.

These programs go beyond Tulsa to support over 600 partners throughout eastern Oklahoma, providing food for pantries, food for families living in rural food deserts, food for direct service programs such as those for veterans and seniors as well as food for kids programs. Last year, families in 24 counties throughout eastern Oklahoma received 22 million meals, thanks to the Food Bank.

Hunger is invisible. We may not see the suffering, but the reality is this: One in five kids in Oklahoma struggles daily with hunger. Kids who are hungry can’t learn. They can’t play or find joy in a summer day. Many families who come to the Food Bank are working families who simply don’t make enough to pay for rent, utilities and food for their children every month.

How to Help

If food insecurity is unacceptable to you, there are ways you can help. Volunteers are always needed. You might want to volunteer for the Summer Feeding Program by helping serve free lunches to children. Or you may want to volunteer for the Kids Backpack Program. There are many other ways to volunteer.

Cash donations are always needed. For example, it only takes $160 per student to feed a child on weekends for an entire school year. Only $25 will provide a family with food for a full month. Maybe your family could donate garage sale funds to the Food Bank. Talk to your kids about how they can help feel other kids – maybe their faith group or scout troop could hold a carwash or other fundraising activity. Hold a food drive.

There are many ways to donate or to serve. To find out what you can do to fight hunger in our community, visit OKFoodBank.org.

If your family does volunteer (kids 6 and older can volunteer alongside an adult) or hold a fundraiser, send a picture to editor@tulsakids.com and I’ll publish some in TulsaKids.