Monday, November 2, 2015
OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin successfully concluded her sixth annual Feeding Oklahoma Drive on Saturday, Oct. 31. The month-long drive benefitted the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and their partner agencies across the state.
Oklahoma consistently ranks among the most food-insecure states in the nation, with more than 656,000 Oklahomans at risk of hunger every day. This year, the governor’s goal was to raise two million meals to help feed hungry Oklahoma families, children and seniors. Preliminary numbers confirm the governor has surpassed this year’s goal.
“I am continually impressed by the support and generosity shown by Oklahomans in all 77 counties,” Fallin said. “I want to especially thank all the sponsors and the caring people who donated their time and resources to help feed our Oklahoma neighbors during the holiday season.”
Final numbers for this year’s drive are being calculated and totals will be released in the coming weeks. For more on this year’s Feeding Oklahoma Drive, view the governor’s video at: http://bit.ly/1Hn2ID6.
About the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is the state’s largest private domestic hunger relief organization. The nonprofit provides enough food to feed more than 116,000 hungry Oklahomans each week through a network of more than 1,250 schools and charitable feeding programs in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties. Since its inception in 1980, the Regional Food Bank has distributed nearly 600 million pounds of food to feed Oklahoma’s hungry. For more information, visit http://www.regionalfoodbank.org, or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/regionalfoodbank or follow on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/rfbo.
About the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma
Founded in 1981, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma is one of the largest, private hunger-relief organizations in Oklahoma. It distributes donated grocery items to 450 Partner Programs in 24 counties of eastern Oklahoma. These programs include emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, shelters and senior citizen centers. Collectively, they distribute more than 346,000 meals a week. In addition, the Food Bank helps raise public awareness about hunger and the role of food banking in alleviating hunger. For more information, visit okfoodbank.org.