Feeding the kids
Summer Feeding Program providing free meals and snacks to children
(OKLAHOMA CITY – For too many Oklahoma children, the end of school means months of wondering whether they will have enough food to eat.
Thanks to the Regional Food Bank’s Summer Feeding Program any child, 18 and under, can receive free, nutritious meals and snacks all summer long across central and western Oklahoma.
“The Summer Feeding Program gives children the nutrition they need to be themselves during the summer months when they should be having fun and not worrying about where their next meal will come from,” said Stacy Dykstra, chief executive officer of the Regional Food Bank.
The Summer Feeding Program is partially funded through federal dollars managed by the USDA and distributed through the Oklahoma State Department of Education. These programs have federal requirements that must be met to receive funding.
When the pandemic began in 2020, the USDA implemented waivers that allowed the Regional Food Bank’s Summer Feeding sites to offer alternative models of feeding children, such as grab-and-go meals and didn’t require the meals to be consumed on-site. Those waivers will expire in late May, at the end of the 2021-22 school year. All meals must be consumed onsite during the summer of 2022.
In Texas County, the following sites will offer meals:
■ Texas County Family YMCA
■ 1602 N. Oklahoma St., Guymon
All meals and snacks for the Summer Feeding Program are prepared and packaged by volunteers in Hope’s Kitchen, the Regional Food Bank’s production kitchen. A full list of sites participating in the Summer Feeding Program and when they offer meals and snacks can be found by visiting rfbo.org/summermeals.
Summer meals are provided through support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Meals will be provided equally and without charge to all children age 18 and younger, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. There will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
To file a complaint of discrimination, call (800) 795-3272 or write to:
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Director
Office of Adjudication 1400 Independence Ave.
SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
About the Regional Food Bank of Okla.
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is leading the fight against hunger in 53 counties in central and western Oklahoma and envisions a state where no one goes hungry. Founded in 1980, the Regional Food Bank is the state’s largest domestic hunger-relief 501(c)(3) nonprofit that distributes food through a network of communitybased partner agencies and schools. The majority of people served by the Regional Food Bank are chronically hungry children, seniors living on fixed incomes and hardworking families struggling to make ends meet. The Regional Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s network of food banks. To join the fight to end hunger, visit rfbo.org.