Newsroom

Food 4 Kids Program Feeds Hungry Okfuskee County Students

Feb. 3, 2010

OKFUSKEE COUNTY, OKLA – The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma initiated its Food 4 Kids backpack program at Boley Elementary in 2007 and now hopes to expand the program to five more elementary schools in Okfuskee County in order to reach an additional 160 children who have been identified by school personnel as chronically hungry.

Currently, more than 30 children at Boley Elementary are receiving the Food 4 Kids backpack filled with nutritious, kid-friendly food every Friday afternoon to sustain them over weekends and holidays when school meal programs are not available. Before Food 4 Kids, many children had very little or nothing to eat between school lunch on Friday and school breakfast on Monday.

"I have a little boy in my room that told me sometimes he eats dinner and sometimes he doesn't," said one Food 4 Kids coordinator. "It depends on whether Mom gets paid or not. This is really unthinkable for me, but it is reality for so many of our children."

Teachers and school administrators have reported that students' academic performance, attendance and self-esteem have improved as a result of participating in the Food 4 Kids program. Last school year, nearly 8,000 chronically hungry children in 263 schools in 38 Oklahoma counties benefited from the program.

"Food 4 Kids is a very effective and efficient program for feeding children that are chronically hungry," said Joe Parks, who raised funds for Food 4 Kids in Okfuskee County. "Our goal is to insure that every child in Okfuskee County comes to school on Monday properly nourished and ready to learn. We depend on community support to fund the program. A $200 donation supplies one child with a backpack full of food every weekend for an entire school year. What an opportunity to make a difference!"

While hunger has negative effects for all segments of the population, children are the most vulnerable. Research indicates that even mild under-nutrition experienced by young children during critical periods can lead to deficits in learning, increased rates of academic failure and cognitive impairment.

With the support of the community, the Regional Food Bank hopes to offer the Food 4 Kids program to every elementary school in Okfuskee County. To make a donation to Food 4 Kids, please contact Lisa Perry at lperry@regionalfoodbank.org or 405.604.7107.

All funds raised for Food 4 Kids-Okfuskee County will support the Food 4 Kids program in Okfuskee County schools.