Hunger Free Oklahoma Blog

Hunger doesn’t end when the school bell rings. For thousands of Oklahoma children, afterschool meal programs provide more than just nourishment—they offer stability, academic support, and a safe place to go. The 2024 Afterschool Meals Report highlights Oklahoma’s progress in serving afterschool meals and the work still needed to ensure every child has access to nutritious food beyond the school day.

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy, and Bailey Ashbaker, Senior Policy Analyst and Engagement Specialist Check out the new Friday Five There is a new way to get the latest info on food security policy discussions that impact Oklahoma. Follow HFO on social media and each Friday, we are sharing the […]

Hunger doesn’t end when the school bell rings. For thousands of Oklahoma children, afterschool meal programs provide more than just nourishment—they offer stability, academic support, and a safe place to go. The 2024 Afterschool Meals Report highlights Oklahoma’s progress in serving afterschool meals and the work still needed to ensure every child has access to nutritious food beyond the school day.

In March 2025, Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) had the pleasure of joining the Oklahoma Library Association (OLA) annual conference in Norman. This two-day event was a fantastic opportunity to engage with library staff from public, school-based, and university libraries about addressing hunger in local communities. 

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy, and Bailey Ashbaker, Senior Policy Analyst and Engagement Specialist The temperatures are creeping up and legislative deadlines creep up on us as well, welcome back to our March edition of Capitol insider. We have updates on committee deadlines, floor deadlines, and which bills are still […]

As Congress engages in critical budget resolution discussions, we urge lawmakers to safeguard essential safety net programs that serve as lifelines for hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans. Proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and other vital services threaten not only the well-being of vulnerable populations, but also Oklahoma’s economic stability and health.

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy, and Bailey Ashbaker, Senior Policy Analyst and Engagement Specialist State Updates Anti-Hunger Day at the Capitol Join Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Hunger Free Oklahoma, and Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma for our 2025 Anti-Hunger Day at the Capitol March 27. Gather with food security […]

We’re taking a moment to breathe now that the federal grant freeze has been rescinded. While we have weathered this moment of confusion and chaos, we are mindful that there will continue to be rapid changes and shifts in information on all sorts of issues that impact our work, our partners’ work, or the communities and people we seek to support.

March is a month of growth, renewal, and a renewed focus on ensuring our communities have access to nutritious meals. That’s why we’re so excited to celebrate National CACFP Week March 16-22, and to announce the release of our highly anticipated Afterschool Meals Report!

Forty acres and a mule. That was the promise made by General William Sherman to former enslaved Africans during the Civil War as a form of reparations for their centuries of forced labor. This promise was soon rescinded by President Andrew Johnson. However, just as Black people had emancipated themselves from slavery, they took the fate of their free futures into their own hands. No group emphasized this liberatory spirit more than the Black people who raced to Oklahoma to claim land after the Civil War, built strong communities in this new land, and blazed a path forward for Black economic and political autonomy, including the freedom to feed themselves.