Record-Breaking Food Drive Raises 853,799 Pounds of Food and $699,200
June 16, 2010
OKLAHOMA CITY - Last night, Nonna's Euro-American Ristorante and Bar sponsored the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers Food Drive award ceremony. A record-breaking 853,799 pounds of food and $699,200 was raised through the month-long event, which will provide 5.3 million meals to hungry Oklahomans in central and western Oklahoma. The goal of the food drive was to raise 700,000 pounds of food and $625,000.
“Without the support from the community, this food drive would not be possible,” said Rodney Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank. “We want to acknowledge and thank the businesses, sponsors, letter carriers, donors and volunteers for making the Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers Food Drive a huge success.”
During the food drive, nearly 100 metro businesses joined post offices in 59 cities and 32 counties to combat hunger in Oklahoma through the “Stamp out Hunger” campaign. The following individuals and businesses were presented with awards to recognize their contributions to the food drive:
- Devon Energy Corporation received three awards - Executive Sponsor; Raising the Most Money ($588,000); and Raising the Most Meals for 500 or more Employees (4,116,000 meals)
- Chesapeake Energy - First Class Sponsor Recognition
- Christina Rehkop - Chair Recognition
- Cindy Batt – Sponsorship Sales Recognition
- National Association of Letter Carriers
- National Rural Letter Carriers Association
- Untied States Postal Service
- American Fidelity Assurance Company – Raising the Most Pounds Overall (12,470 pounds)
- CompSource - Raising the Most Meals, 100 to 499 Employees (2,675 meals)
- First United Bank - Raising the Most Meals, under 100 Employees (3,242 meals)
- Steve Riggs, David Miller and Bob Bearden – Hunger Hero Awards
A total of 32 counties participated in the 18th annual Letter Carriers Food Drive, including: Beckham, Blaine, Bryan , Canadian, Carter , Cleveland, Comanche, Custer, Garfield, Garvin, Grady, Grant, Greer, Hughes, Jackson, Kay, Kiowa, Lincoln, Logan, Major, McClain, Murray, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Payne, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Seminole, Stephens, Tillman, Washita and Woodward. All food donations were distributed within the community in which they were donated.
“This year the Feeding Hope Food Drive, anchored by the Letter Carrier’s Food Drive on May 8, was a spectacular success,” said David Miller, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 458. “Hungry Oklahoman’s can rest a little easier knowing that this will help provide an additional 5.3 million meals on their tables this year; a year in which many of our friends and family find themselves asking for help for the first time in their lives due to the sagging economy. I am proud to be associated with this event year after year.”
The Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers Food Drive is sponsored by: Executive Sponsors - Devon Energy Corporation and Chesapeake Energy Corporation; AFL CIO; American Fidelity Assurance Company; Associated Wholesale Grocers (Homeland and United Supermarkets): BancFirst; Bank of America; Campbell’s; Express Employment Professionals; Feeding America; First United Bank; Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores; MidFirst Bank; National Association of Letter Carriers; the National Rural Letter Carriers Association; News 9; Oklahoma City Firefighters IAFF Local # 157; OGE Energy Corp.; The Oklahoman; Renda Broadcasting (Magic 104.1 KMGL; 92.5 KOMA);Tyler Broadcasting (Jake 93.3 FM, La Zeta 106.7 FM, and KKNG 97.3 FM); The Spy 105.3 FM; The United States Postal Service; United Way of Central Oklahoma; and ValPak.
Last year, the Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers Food Drive collected 684,032 pounds of food and $585,983, which provided over 4.5 million meals to hungry Oklahomans.
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is a private, 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization that acts as a link through which the food industry and community may donate food and other goods. The products are then distributed to nearly 700 schools and charitable feeding programs in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties. In the last fiscal year, the Food Bank distributed 28.5 million pounds of food and product to help the charitable community effectively feed people in need. Since its inception in 1980, the Regional Food Bank has distributed more than 352 million pounds of food to feed Oklahoma’s hungry. Visit regionalfoodbank.org to see the new counter that tracks the pounds and meals distributed every second.
