Policy & Advocacy

Hunger Free Oklahoma was awarded a $500,000 matching grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to expand Double Up Oklahoma in farmers markets across the state and to pilot a grocery store program in rural Oklahoma. Combined with over $400,000 in support from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) for an expansion to grocery stores

by Chris Bernard, Executive Director It takes all of us to solve big, systemic problems like hunger in Oklahoma. From our very beginning, Hunger Free Oklahoma employees, partners, and providers came with one mindset: “Working together, we can create a hunger free Oklahoma.” Thank you for your support of HFO or any of our 600 […]

by Sam Kirzner, Double Up Oklahoma Program Manager, Hunger Free Oklahoma Double Up Oklahoma (DUO), a program that matches SNAP purchases with free produce dollar-for-dollar, is expanding to grocery stores! This farmers market season, DUO operates in 16 farmers markets and one mobile grocer. About 17.9% of Oklahoma SNAP participants currently live in an area […]

By Jessica Dietrich, Hunger Free Oklahoma, Policy and Government Relations Manager In my work advocating at the Oklahoma State Capitol over the past several years, one consistent question I receive is, “What do you actually do?” While I have my oversimplified, slightly-humorous answer of “I go to a lot of meetings,” the truth is not […]

by Doug McDurham, Director of Public Affairs, Baylor University’s Texas Hunger Initiative Published in 2017, “Ending Hunger in Oklahoma; An assessment of food insecurity and resources in Oklahoma,” included a statewide analysis of the sources of food assistance. According to the authors, my colleagues at the Texas Hunger Initiative (THI), 93% of food assistance in […]

by Treba Shyers, Hunger Outreach Specialist, Hunger Free Oklahoma Senior Hunger is a real issue throughout the nation and our state of Oklahoma.  When we think about hunger, many times we think about children or people experiencing homelessness. Rarely do we think about senior citizens. Why? Because the “golden years” are supposed to be about […]

OKDHS works to get SNAP households benefits by January 20th We know that many organizations and their clients are concerned about the effect of the government shutdown on SNAP benefits. USDA recently released an advisory allowing states to distribute February SNAP benefits by January 20th in order to ensure that SNAP households received their benefits […]

Resources for Contacting your Legislators

In 78 schools in Oklahoma City, children will have access to breakfast and lunch at no cost next school year. By implementing the Community Eligibility Program (CEP) Oklahoma City Public Schools has committed to ensuring that all students start the day on a level playing field and have every possible chance at academic success.

In 2016, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a guidance requiring all school districts or state administering agencies participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP) to create and clearly communicate a policy on unpaid school meal debt. The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), the state agency […]

On December 9, 2016, Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) submitted a letter to the State Department of Education regarding their request for comment on the Oklahoma draft State Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed into law in 2015 with bipartisan support in congress. It requires every state […]