Topic: Child Nutrition

2022 KIDS COUNT Report Shows Oklahoma Ranks 40th for Child Well-Being, Still Lags Nation

By: Dave Hamby
August 8, 2022 // Updated: August 8, 2022
Data from 2020 show nearly 1 in 8 Oklahoma children reported anxiety or depression, according to new Annie E. Casey Foundation report 2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book Oklahoma 2022 KIDS COUNT Fact Sheet Oklahoma KIDS COUNT Data Map dashboard —… Read more [More...]

New OK Policy report shows intricate, fragile interconnectedness of public assistance programs for Oklahomans in need

By: Oklahoma Policy Institute
December 11, 2020 // Updated: January 30, 2021
A new report from the Oklahoma Policy Institute — entitled “Plateaus and Cliff Effects in Oklahoma” —  is among the first of its kind to examine how public supports and income interact to impact low-income Oklahomans. [More...]

School meals are a lifeline for Oklahoma families. P-EBT extends that lifeline to ensure children get the food they need. (Guest Post)

By: Guest
September 30, 2020 // Updated: September 29, 2020
Food insecurity is a major issue in Oklahoma. Prior to the pandemic, 1 in 5 children lived in households where access to food wasn’t always reliable. Now, due to the broad economic impact of COVID-19, it is projected that in… Read more [More...]

Providing food security for Oklahoma students who might otherwise go without meals

By: Rebecca Fine
March 20, 2020 // Updated: March 26, 2020
In response to this need, OSDE received approval for waivers to allow schools to provide “grab and go” meals at no cost to low-income students who qualify for free and reduced-priced lunch through the Summer Food Service Program. [More...]

In a potential teacher walkout, communities must step up to fill the nutrition gap (Guest post: Brent Sadler)

By: Guest
March 29, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Brent Sadler is Vice President of Community Investments for the Tulsa Area United Way. With the potential for a teacher walkout on the horizon, one of our greatest concerns is food insecurity for our most vulnerable citizens – our children. … Read more [More...]

More Oklahoma children could be eating breakfast. This new report outlines how.

By: Carly Putnam
March 8, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
The cliché exists for a reason: breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Its benefits are well-documented, especially for children. However, 1 in 5 Oklahoma children may not have consistent access to breakfast, jeopardizing their growth and… Read more [More...]

Lunch shaming is real – but we can end it (Guest Post: Effie Craven)

By: Guest
February 14, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Effie Craven is the State Advocacy and Public Policy Director for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Imagine you are a child waiting in the school lunch line with your friends.  You laugh and joke as you move through the… Read more [More...]

Watch This: Ending Hunger in Oklahoma Schools

By: Lydia Lapidus
January 9, 2018 // Updated: May 2, 2019
One in four Oklahoma children are at risk of not having enough to eat, yet the state leaves over $400 million in child nutrition funding on the table each year because of our low participation in federal assistance programs. By… Read more [More...]

This district is all-in on school meals

By: Carly Putnam
November 20, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
It’s a tough time to be an educator in Oklahoma. Between low teacher pay, stretched support staff, and the deepest per pupil funding cuts in the country, there’s little wonder morale is low. At the same time, Oklahoma’s already-high poverty… Read more [More...]

Schools use food trucks to fight food insecurity during summer months

By: Maggie Den Harder
May 30, 2017 // Updated: May 2, 2019
Maggie Den Harder is an intern with Oklahoma Policy Institute and a Masters of Public Administration student at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. For Oklahoma families who are food-insecure, school meals can be a lifeline. Six in ten students qualify for… Read more [More...]