Regional Food Bank Gearing Up for Holiday Help

There are 25 resources for food and hygiene aid in the local area. Many of these are run by the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

 According to the Director of Marketing and Communications at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Angie Gaines, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma serves about 90,000 Oklahomans each week with aid for food. These are distributed through various organizations such as the food pantries, soup kitchens, meals on wheels, and other sources.

Gaines also mentioned that there is a new way they disperse food for those looking for it. There are three food resource centers which are set up to be like grocery stores. Clients are given a dollar amount and left to shop within the store. She stressed that this was important for people with allergies.

According to an article from NewsOK about the Food Resource Centers, there are three food resource centers open now, and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma plans on opening 40 food resource centers in the next several years.

Most food pantries have limits to how many times they can be visited a month. At McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church it is twice a month. The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma does not regulate this, or the individual site’s rules about what the client needs to have to receive help.

 “We don’t ask them about what other programs the client has… signed up for.” Pat Stewart, a volunteer at the McFarlin Methodist’s food pantry, said, “We just qualify with one question and that is ‘Do you live in the Norman, Noble, or Little Axe area?’ cause that’s the area we serve. And we work through the Regional Food Bank in Oklahoma City.”

According to Gaines, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma aids local food pantries by supplying most, if not all, of the food they give out.

In a pamphlet from the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma it states that in 2012, 42.2 million pounds of food was distributed to families, seniors and children. And that one in four children in Oklahoma struggles with hunger every day.

The food pantry at McFarlin Memorial Methodist Church is open every Tuesday and Thursday from 9-11 and 1-4. On Thursdays they also have utilities assistance available.