Oklahoma News Report

With schools about to dismiss for the summer, emergency food pantries are gearing up for an increase in the number of families seeking help putting enough food on the table.

During summer many children who recieve lunch and/or breakfast through the free and reduced priced school meal program don’t have access to those food resources. Only an estimated 20% of kids that get free or reduced priced meals at school or backpack supplimental food for the weekends have access to summer feeding sites that provide breakfast or lunch for children.

Over the weekend, the postal service picked up canned goods as it delivered the mail. The annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is timed to collect canned goods for food banks at a point in the year when many typically see a drop off in donations of food and money.

Postal workers collected about 80,000 pounds of food in eastern Oklahoma and 747,000 pounds in the central and western parts of the state. In rural communities the food was taken directly to food pantries according to a spokesperson for the Regional Food Bank. The food bank now needs volunteers to help sort the food for distribution through its member agencies.

Sara Waggoner says this year requests for food assistance is up as much as 80% at some food pantries in Eastern, Oklahoma. She estimates 75% of those seeking help have never had a need before. Waggoner doesn’t expect demand to taper off any time soon. She says that’s because even if people who lost jobs find new employment they often have a stack of bills that must be paid leaving them with little or no money to feed their families.

A class project generates a valuable information resource on the status of women in each county in Oklahoma.
Topics range from employment and health, to education and incarceration.
OSU students and their professor collaborated with the State Commission on the Status of Women, and the University Library’s Women’s Archives to create the comprehensive statistical profile.

Have you ever wondered what GRDA is or does? We found out in this “It’s Your Government” report.

Homeless, and nearly homeless women with children have a new refuge in Tulsa. It’s called Lindsey House. It provides free housing while the women complete their education, learn to manage their money, and get jobs that will allow them to become self supporting.