Summer meal access continued to grow across Oklahoma, particularly in rural communities. Partners operated 134 non-congregate sites, an 11.7% increase from the previous year, serving more than 2.1 million non-congregate meals—a 42.8% increase. Non-congregate meals now make up 59.5% of all summer meals served, surpassing congregate meals and helping reach families in areas where traditional meal sites are harder to access. This expansion resulted in approximately one million more rural non-congregate meals served compared to the previous year.

Click here for more information on summer meals.

Afterschool programs continued to play an important role in keeping kids nourished beyond the school day. During the 2024-2025 school year, partners served 5.2 million afterschool suppers and snacks, representing a 4.7% increase compared to the previous school year.

Click here to view our 2024 Afterschool Meals Report.

School breakfast remains one of the most effective ways to ensure students start the day ready to learn. During the 2024-2025 school year, schools served 25.5 million breakfasts to students across Oklahoma.

Click here to view our latest School Breakfast Report.

Thanks to a WIC Innovation Outreach grant, HFO is partnering with WIC programs to increase enrollment, awareness, and participation in WIC. This includes the launch of the OKWIC.org website which demystifies the application process and promotes the grant’s pilot ride intervention. To address transportation barriers, a pilot project to support rides to WIC appointments and grocery stores was launched in 23 counties with lower enrollment rates. The project also involves a media campaign which is testing different types of imagery and messaging, such as the inclusion of fathers in the ads.

Visit OKWIC.org.

The Nutrition Security Task Force is leading the development of a comprehensive statewide blueprint to guide Oklahoma’s efforts to end hunger and improve nutrition outcomes. With more than 100 members representing a broad cross-section of sectors—including nonprofits, state agencies, healthcare, education, and community organizations—the task force reflects a strong, collaborative approach to systems-level change. Work is currently underway in five pillar area workgroups, where members are drafting targeted goals and strategies that will shape the foundation of the state plan. This process is designed to ensure the final blueprint is both data-informed and grounded in the realities of communities across Oklahoma, with a focus on long-term, sustainable solutions.

With robust support from the Oklahoma Food is Medicine Coalition, Oklahoma passed the Food is Medicine Act in a nearly unanimous process. Senate Bill 806 requires that the Oklahoma Healthcare Authority pursue a funding pathway to provide Food is Medicine to Medicaid members. Oklahoma is one of the few states to formally prioritize local food sourcing within its FIM legislation. Senate Bill 806 directs the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to “prioritize the inclusion of community-based organizations and local growers” when implementing nutrition prescriptions. OHCA is receiving continuous technical assistance as they make decisions on how to best implement this law.

View the 2026 Oklahoma’s Food is Medicine Landscape Analysis here.

Hunger Free Oklahoma released the first Oklahoma-specific Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) report, highlighting significant growth in access to no-cost school meals across the state. The report found that since 2019, the number of Oklahoma children able to receive free meals through CEP has more than doubled. According to data from the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE), 117,183 students were enrolled in CEP-participating schools in the 2018–2019 school year; by 2024–2025, that number had risen to 277,458 students. This growth underscores the expanding reach of CEP and its critical role in reducing barriers to nutritious meals for students statewide.

*In 2023, USDA lowered the CEP threshold from 40% to 25%, significantly increasing school eligibility in Oklahoma from SY 2022–2023 to SY 2023–2024.

View the full CEP report here.

Last year marked the largest Anti-Hunger Day at the Capitol to date (until 2026) with 160 attendees and strong partnership from the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. The event has continued to grow in both size and impact, bringing together advocates from across the state to engage with policymakers on hunger-related issues. For the first time, Hunger Free Oklahoma also included youth from its Youth Action Council (YAC), elevating young voices in advocacy efforts. The event featured a powerful panel of lived experts, ensuring that firsthand experiences with food insecurity remained central to the conversation and informed policy discussions.

This legislative session saw the filing of 12 positive bills aimed at strengthening food security across Oklahoma—more than in any previous year. This milestone reflects the growing impact of sustained education and advocacy efforts, as policymakers increasingly recognize the importance of addressing hunger through thoughtful policy solutions.

In addition to tracking and supporting these bills, Hunger Free Oklahoma expanded its engagement in the interim study process, participating in more studies than ever before. Notably, this included facilitating lived expert (LE) testimony for the first time in HFO’s history, ensuring that policymakers heard directly from Oklahomans with firsthand experience navigating food insecurity. Together, these efforts signal meaningful progress in elevating both the issue and the voices most impacted within the policy landscape.