OK Policy had the pleasure of meeting with Sara Amberg recently, an advocate for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma (CFBEO).  Food banks across the state, including the CFBEO and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and its affiliates, work tirelessly to feed and inspire families facing food insecurity.  Food insecurity – defined as “limited or uncertain unavailability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods” – affects thousands of Oklahomans.  One in seven Oklahoma households, or 14 percent were food insecure in 2008; the national average is 12.2 percent.

The economic downturn continues to strain family food budgets and increase demand on both private charities and public programs for food assistance.  Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) increased by 44.9 percent between February 2008 and February 2011, adding 187,506 participants.  Programs like SNAP not only serve a social welfare role by providing families with food, they also have a significant impact on Oklahoma businesses, pumping millions of dollars each month directly into the grocers, markets, and convenient stores of local economies. Read the rest of this entry »

There is no doubt about our commitment–as a nation and a state–to improving educational opportunities and outcomes. Sometimes we forget about the key role nutrition plays in helping kids get to school and be ready to learn. For many Oklahoma children, nutrition means the free and reduced price school meal program. It’s as big a part of the school day as English, math, and social studies class.

During the current school year, more than half of Oklahoma’s school-age population – 56.3 percent – live in families with household incomes low enough to qualify to receive free or reduced school meals. According to a report prepared by the State Department of Education, just under 300,000 public school students, or 46.4 percent, qualified for free school meals, which means that their family income was below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, or $27,560 per year for a family of four. An additional 63,000 students, or 9.8 percent, qualified for reduced-cost meals, which is based on family income below 185 percent of the poverty rate ($39,220 per year for a family of four).

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