America’s racial wealth gap was 397 years in the making; we shouldn’t take that long to close it

Chattel slavery of African-Americans lasted for 246 years, from when the first slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619 to when it was finally abolished in 1865. Another 99 years passed until the 1964 Civil Rights Act ended Jim Crow… Read more [More...]

Claims that SQ 777 will boost food security are hard to swallow

Note: This is an expanded and revised version of a column that appeared in the Journal Record. Vote Yes on State Question 777 or else more Oklahoma children and seniors will go hungry? That’s the highly misleading message that supporters… 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...]

We The (Incarcerated) People (Neglected Oklahoma)

Camille Landry is a writer, activist, and social justice advocate who lives in Oklahoma City.  This post is part of our “Neglected Oklahoma” series, which tells the stories of Oklahomans in situations where the basic necessities of life are hard… Read more [More...]

New Census data shows Oklahoma improves on poverty and uninsured rates but still lags behind nation

New Census data shows Oklahoma made some progress in reducing the percentage of families living in poverty in 2015. In 2014, nearly one out of six Oklahomans (16.6 percent) were making less than the poverty line ($24,000 a year for… Read more [More...]

Run for the Border: Education Outlaws in Oklahoma (Neglected Oklahoma)

Camille Landry is a writer, activist, and social justice advocate who lives in Oklahoma City.  This post is part of our “Neglected Oklahoma” series, which tells the stories of Oklahomans in situations where the basic necessities of life are hard… Read more [More...]

At the intersection of hunger and health (Guest Post: Effie Craven)

Effie Craven serves as the State Advocacy and Public Policy Director for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, where she advocates for programs and policies that promote access to nutritious foods and… Read more [More...]

New research finds Tulsa Head Start program produces lasting gains (Guest Blog: Deborah Phillips and William Gormley)

Deborah Phillips is Professor of Psychology and William Gormley is Professor of Government and Public Policy at Georgetown University. Their Tulsa-based research on early childhood education has appeared in the top scientific journals in their fields, in national media outlets,… 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...]