Oklahoma school meals programs bring new strategies to fight child hunger

Maggie Den Harder is an intern with Oklahoma Policy Institute and a Masters of Public Administration student at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. In Oklahoma school meal programs are vital to helping children who are food insecure get reliable access to… Read more [More...]

Increasing breakfast in the classroom participation can help kids learn while strengthening school budgets

Maggie Den Harder is an intern with Oklahoma Policy Institute and a Masters of Public Administration student at the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa. Experts agree that a healthy breakfast is crucial for children to grow and learn. However, in… Read more [More...]

SNAP is working to feed Oklahoma’s Children

Hundreds of thousands of Oklahoma families are able to put enough food on the table because of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). But research increasingly shows that it accomplishes much more than that. Growing up in poverty is shown… Read more [More...]

Celebrating big progress toward hunger-free schools

Late this summer, just as parents started to wonder precisely where they’d put that school supplies list, Tulsa Public Schools announced that all elementary schools in the district would serve free breakfast and lunch to all students in the coming… Read more [More...]

Why is Oklahoma worst in the nation for feeding hungry kids in summer?

Tara Grigson is an OK Policy intern. She is a psychology and Spanish major at the University of Tulsa and previously worked as a Mission Impact Intern at YWCA Tulsa. Oklahoma is nearly the worst in the nation for food… Read more [More...]

Proposed federal legislation could yank free school meals from 51,000 Oklahoma students

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) of the 2010 Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act allows high-poverty schools to provide breakfast and lunch to all students. Access to free, healthy meals helps low-income children and families by improving child nutrition and behavior,… Read more [More...]

This program helps hungry kids and saves administrative costs, but participation lags in Oklahoma

Oklahoma is among the worst in the nation for uptake of a program that ensures low-income students have access to school meals, according to a new report. By not adopting this program, schools are passing up an effective way to… Read more [More...]

Four-day school weeks could leave thousands of Oklahoma kids hungry

One of the most visible consequences of the state’s budget crisis is the increasing number of school districts that are considering or have already gone to a four-day school week. More than 100 districts are considering making the switch, according… Read more [More...]

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Legislature moves to cut child nutrition benefits

The Oklahoma legislature is poised to deal a major blow to non-profits and faith-based organizations who help administer the WIC program.  The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is a federally-funded, state-administered nutrition service for low-income women, infants and children… Read more [More...]