Hunger Free Oklahoma Blog

Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) announced today it has received a $50,000 grant from Telligen Community Initiative (TCI), a private, Iowa-based charitable foundation. This partnership supports HFO’s efforts to build public-private partnerships that connect more families to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, equip community organizations to serve as SNAP access points, and provide public education on the positive impact of SNAP and SNAP enrollment in Oklahoma communities.

by Allycia Brimson, Raul Lopez, and Treba Shyers of the HFO SNAP Application Hotline Leadership Reflecting: Everyone everywhere is reflecting on the past year—the pandemic, the struggles, the loss, and the lessons learned. About a year ago we all felt the shock and reality of the COVID-19 crisis. We had questions… • How do we […]

by Richard Comeau, Program Director, Hunger Free Oklahoma Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) is making a difference. In the city of Okemah (Okfuskee County), which has only one full-service grocery store and some of Oklahoma’s worst health indicators, Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) is fulfilling a need. So much so that according to Homeland staff, people are […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Policy and Government Relations Manager, Hunger Free Oklahoma The American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress March 10th, will help the thousands of Oklahomans struggling to put food on the table. According to the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, Oklahoma’s food scarcity rate, the more extreme end of food insecurity, has been […]

Hundreds of thousands of children in Oklahoma rely on school meals on a regular basis. So, when schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that dependable source of school meals disappeared almost overnight and it emphasized the need for many children across the state. Enter your local school nutrition team.

A new year does not magically end the challenges of the last, but it does give us an opportunity to look forward and set new priorities for the year ahead. We are grateful to be able to look ahead, regardless of the current challenges or new challenges that may arise, and think about what more we can do to move toward a Hunger Free Oklahoma.

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 Katie Marvel, Communications Coordinator, Hunger Free Oklahoma It comes as no surprise that the COVID-19 shutdown has affected Oklahomans economically in more ways than one. Local businesses have had to close their doors, thousands of workers have been laid off, and families, some for the first time, are struggling to pay for basic needs: […]