Food Bank Of Eastern Oklahoma Helps Provide Meals For Kids During Summer Break

The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma is ramping up efforts to make sure every kid has a meal this summer. It's trying to help out since the state of Oklahoma has opted out of the EBT program.

The food bank said about 60 percent of kids in the state rely on free and reduced lunch programs. This means in the summer a lot of kids could be food insecure.

The food bank also said more than half of Oklahoma families report being unable to meet expenses or having just enough to get by.

When families struggle, they turn to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and the more than 600 community-based feeding partners it supports.

Matt Jostes, the food bank's chief development officer said the food bank is doing everything it can to make sure no child is without a meal while school is out for the summer.

"To meet this need, we have drastically increased our summer meals. We usually do about 85,000 meals per summer for our summer feeding program. This year, we're doing 200,000 to meet that need," Jostes said.

Jostes said it's important for kids to be able to enjoy their time off from school instead of worrying about where their next meal is going to come from.

"When they go home for the summer, that could be 90 days without meals, and these kids should be able to enjoy summer break. They should not be out there wondering where their next meal is going to come from," Jostes said.

Jostes said the community can help make sure kids have meals this summer either by donating to the food bank, volunteering, or by being advocates.

Families can also visit the food bank's website to find out where the feeding sites are this summer. | CLICK HERE for information.