midwestmedia & marketing Donates Video To Fight Childhood Hunger

Aug. 11, 2010

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma recently debuted a video, produced and donated by midwestmedia & marketing, to raise awareness about childhood hunger in Oklahoma.

“We are extremely thankful for this in-kind donation,” said Rodney Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank.  “The video will help educate the public about the issue of childhood hunger in Oklahoma – and how you can make a difference by supporting the Food for Kids program.”

As part of its Grand Opening festivities in April 2010, midwestmedia & marketing awarded the Regional Food Bank the opportunity to have the free video produced, which was valued at more than $2,500.

“We selected a program that touched our hearts,” midwestmedia & marketing Creative Director Chris Hunt said.  “Knowing that we were supporting such a great cause was the inspiration behind the film.  It was very rewarding to know we played a small part in helping kids and creating awareness of a problem most people don’t think about.”

Unfortunately, one in five children in Oklahoma struggles with hunger every day.  That’s why Food for Kids is so important.  Through this program, chronically hungry elementary school students receive a back pack filled with nutritious, kid-friendly food items for weekends and school holidays. Last school year, the Food for Kids program served nearly 8,000 chronically hungry children in 305 schools in 42 central and western Oklahoma counties.

Research shows that children living in food-insecure households have more difficulty concentrating in school than children in food-secure households, and the results of this condition have been linked to grade repetition, absenteeism, tardiness, anxiety, aggression and poor math scores.

In the video, Kathren Stehno, a Food for Kids Coordinator at Prairie Queen Elementary School, discusses the positive impact of the program.

“I definitely have seen the difference in the students who have consistently received these backpacks and their attitudes towards school,” said Stehno. “I believe that the children benefit from having food for the weekend… they benefit from the hope it gives them."

The Regional Food Bank is dedicated to “Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope.”  A donation of $200 provides one chronically hungry child with a backpack of food every weekend throughout the school year.  The Food Bank plans on expanding the program until it is available in every elementary school in its 53 central and western Oklahoma county service area.

“We hope the film assists the Regional Food Bank by helping them generate the needed support for their Food for Kids program,” Hunt said. “The Regional Food Bank represents the type of organization we like to work with... it’s a great fit.”

midwestmedia & marketing, inc. is a full-service Oklahoma marketing and branding company with services including: corporate branding, communications strategy, video production, graphic design, public relations, web design/content and event planning. For more information about midwestmedia & marketing, inc., please visit www.mwmediamarketing.com.

Established in 1980, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is the largest private hunger-relief organization in the state of Oklahoma. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Food Bank distributed nearly 36.5 million pounds of food and products through a network of more than 700 charitable feeding programs and elementary schools in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties. Each week, the organization provides enough food to feed more than 77,000 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 36.5 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 354 million pounds of food to feed Oklahoma’s hungry. Connect online with the Regional Food Bank at twitter.com/rfbo or facebook.com/regionalfoodbank.