‘Farmers To Families’ Program Helps Address High Need For Food Amid Pandemic

The pandemic has magnified the number of Oklahomans who need help putting food on the table.

The USDA has the largest government program, buying farm products to offer food boxes to families in need.

The demand for pandemic relief continues, in the form of government supplied food boxes, with distribution points set up in many communities. A Claremore church distributed all the boxes they had Monday morning.

Volunteers from First United Methodist Church filled trunks with boxes of food staples - onions, potatoes, meat, and yogurt in their weekly distribution that started almost a year ago.

"We have an ebb and flow of people who come" said Mike Culbreath, who organizes the distribution. "During the holidays we had people backed up onto highway 88."

He said they had less traffic last week during spring break, but the demand was back Monday. The method is to give each person what they say they need, no questions asked.

"Most of them say they're picking it up for elderly neighbors or people who can't get out," said Brenda Updike.

Rhonda Walters said she was picking up boxes for several families in her church.

"They'll just take anything they can get right now, just trying to help them out," said Walters.

"Well I'm helping people who can't get out, I take it to them," said one man, while another woman said she was picking up food for her grandchildren.

"It has helped a bunch, it really has," she said.

The delivery to the church was handled by Mercy Chefs, which has distributions in Inola, Fairland, and Claremore on the schedule Tuesday, with Pryor, South Coffeyville, Claremore and Collinsville locations for Wednesday.

You can find a list of all this week’s distribution sites for the Mercy Chefs group below.