impact of food insecurity

The TV ads have stopped. The billboards are coming down. The unsolicited text messages and calls have slowed (or switched topics, at least). The 2022 election season has, largely, come to an end. Aside from this brief reprieve from electioneering, what happens now? Let’s break down what the aftermath of an election looks like and what it means for advocates at every level.

A Reflection from HFO’s Executive Director Chris Bernard On September 28, I had the honor of representing Hunger Free Oklahoma at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, the second such conference in history. Attending the conference was an amazing experience. However, I (like many who participated in-person or virtually) have been working […]

by Kaitlyn Klippert, Hunger Outreach Program Specialist, and Treasure Standeford, Hunger Outreach Program Senior Specialist As summer is officially over and schools across Oklahoma are back in swing, families are looking to the future as autumn is rapidly approaching. While many of us look forward to the coming months of sweaters, pumpkin spice, and cooler […]

by Katie Raymond, Regional Program Manager Even though the sun still burns bright and temps are high, August in Oklahoma means Back-to-School season. Between deals on school supplies and tax-free weekends, this season is geared toward making sure families have what they need to be successful for a new school year. But what about empowering […]

by Eric Barr, SNAP Outreach Coordinator Oklahoma is a very military-friendly state. It offers tax exemptions, employment services, tuition assistance, and other perks to active-duty military and veterans. Despite the favorable policies, out of Oklahoma’s 20,000 active-duty troops, one in four participate in SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and roughly 21,000[1] of the 310,000 veterans […]

by Bailey Ashbaker, Senior Policy Analyst and Engagement Specialist Even though Native communities experience high rates of hunger and poverty, Native Americans are severely underrepresented in data and discussions about food security (1). Thirty-nine formally recognized Tribes exist in Oklahoma today, and they play important roles in the state’s economic, political, cultural, and structural development. […]

by Abby Stainer, Regional Program Manager The Oklahoma Childhood Food Security Coalition’s 2022 Summer Meals Kickoff is officially in the books. Thank you to all participants and presenters! The educational and inspiring four-part virtual series took place on the fourth Thursday of the month from January through April, averaging more than 60 attendants per session […]

by Leslie Young, Double Up Oklahoma Program Manager According to the United States Department of Agriculture, fifteen percent of Oklahoma households are food-insecure. It’s a staggering percentage, a number that represents the more than 600,000 Oklahomans that don’t have the means or access to adequate food. There are various temporary and permanent reasons for food […]

by Eugenia Chow, Richard Comeau, Jessica Dietrich, Matthew McClure, Katie Raymond, Devin Schroeder, and Taz Shah More than 1 in 5 children in Oklahoma experience food insecurity, meaning they lack adequate nutrition to learn and grow to their fullest potential. Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) and partners are committed to ensuring more children are fed more […]

by Sarah Smith-Moore, Hunger Outreach Program Specialist Food is a basic need that every human being deserves but it is also more than that. Food nourishes our bodies, connects us to our families, our neighbors, and our community. We often gather around a table of food for many reasons: holidays, hardships, birthdays, or a night […]

by Chris Bernard, Executive Director 2021 did not play out in the manner many of us had thought or hoped it would at the beginning of the year. While we were able to get back to some degree of normalcy for part of the year, it was not long until new variants brought about the […]

Chris Bernard, Hunger Free Oklahoma’s executive director, was invited to testify at a congressional roundtable, along with four other experts from across the nation, as part of an effort to examine the issue of hunger in rural America. The roundtable, Ending Hunger in America: Food Insecurity in Rural America, was the twelfth event in a […]

by Chris Bernard, Executive Director In reflecting on HFO’s five years of work and thinking of how to best sum it up for the newsletter, I struggled. Listing accomplishments and impacts is a perfectly reasonable approach, after all, we have many accomplishments to be proud of – as an organization and as a member of […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Policy and Government Relations Manager Oklahoma has some of the poorest health indicators in the nation, ranking 45th overall according to the United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings 2020 report. The same report ranks Oklahoma 49th in fruit and vegetable consumption and 46th in household food security. There is a significant body […]

by Candace Pape-Macedo, Senior Manager of SNAP Programs No Kid Hungry and Hunger Free Oklahoma are partnering to expand the Oklahoma SNAP in Schools project. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) allows eligible individuals and families to stretch their grocery budgets each month. Despite its proven ability to improve household food security, SNAP is underutilized […]

by Candace Pape-Macedo, Senior Manager of SNAP Programs Food insecurity isn’t always easy to spot, but we see its impacts all around us. An inability to consistently meet basic nutritional needs impacts child development1, academic achievement2, workforce performance3, military recruitment and service (national defense)4, family stability and adverse childhood experiences5, individual resilience6, dental health7, emotional8 […]