COVID-19 Pandemic Leads To Increased Food Insecurity For More Oklahomans

New Census data released shows more American families need help making sure their children have enough food to eat.

“It’s definitely alarming and it’s one of those data points that we are being very mindful of and we are keeping our finger on the pulse in our community,” Lori Long said.

Long, the Chief Executive Officer for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma said they’re doing two distributions a month to help make sure families don’t go hungry.

The food bank has been handing out 20-pound emergency food boxes. With a lot of Green Country schools turning to virtual learning, Long believes this also puts parents in a tough spot.

“’Food or pay rent’ and we want them to pay rent knowing there are food resources out there for people to access,” Long said.

Pam Ballard at Community Service Council said they receive about 600 calls a day, which is double what they saw prior to the pandemic.

“We hear a lot of people calling and saying that they donated in the past to food banks and never thought they would be calling,” Ballard said.

The food banks plan to have their warehouse always full, so they won’t have to turn anyone away.

You can find a list of partner pantries in your area at this website.