Regional Food Bank Logo Large Banner

Our History

Since 1980, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma has served with a single goal in mind – fighting hunger while feeding hope. Over the last four decades the Regional Food Bank has expanded from serving the Oklahoma City metro to a 53-county service area in central and western Oklahoma. Take a tour of the evolution of the Regional Food Bank’s fight against hunger in the timeline below.

1979

A group of concerned Oklahoma City citizens, led by Rodney Bivens, formed a task force to fight the ever-present reality of hunger in the community. As a result of the task force, the Regional Food Bank was founded on May 15, 1980 and becomes the 21st food bank in the nation. The first location was a 10,000-square-foot warehouse right in the middle of what is now Scissortail Park in downtown Oklahoma City. In that first year, the organization distributes 280,000 pounds of food.

1981

The Oklahoma Legislature passed the Good Faith Donor Bill aiding the Regional Food Bank’s ability to get surplus from the food industry to help Oklahomans living with hunger. The organization also purchases 14,000 square-feet of warehouse space in Automobile Alley. The new space made the Regional Food Bank fully operational with facilities for dry goods, refrigerated products and frozen items.

1985

The Regional Food Bank began its Rural Delivery Sites Program after acquiring a truck that could maintain frozen food. Along with expanding the Regional Food Bank’s service area, the program ensured that no partner agency in the Regional Food Bank’s network would have to drive more than one hour to pick up food. That drive time is now cut to 30 minutes. The program quickly became a model for other food banks to follow across the country.

1987

In less than a few years, the Regional Food Bank had once again outgrown its warehouse space. Then president of the Regional Food Bank’s Board of Directors, Burns Hargis, said at the time: “We are, in some ways, a victim of our own success. We are literally busting at the seams, are in desperate need of more frozen storage, more salvage space and premises which permit more efficient operations.” Generous donors made the purchase of a new 36,000-square-foot headquarters south of downtown Oklahoma City possible. The move also allowed the Regional Food Bank to continue expanding its programs and reach to more counties in central and western Oklahoma.

2000

After an extensive capital campaign, the Regional Food Bank builds its current location, a 90,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art distribution center in southwest Oklahoma City. The building was dedicated in 2000 and in the following year the organization distributes nearly 17.3 million pounds of food, a 21% increase over the previous year.

2003

The Regional Food Bank pilots its first Food for Kids Program, the Backpack Program, in five Oklahoma elementary schools. The program provides kid-friendly, nutritious food to elementary school children who are identified as food insecure. The program now exists in all 53 counties in the Regional Food Bank’s service area. In the summer of 2003, the Regional Food Bank partners with the USDA to begin the Summer Feeding Program, providing free meals and snacks to children under the age of 18 during the summer months. Two expansions – in 2007 and 2015 – added a larger dedicated Volunteer Center, added Hope’s Kitchen, additional freezer space and much-needed offices.

2008

Work is finished to expand the Regional Food Bank’s headquarters by adding 30,000 feet of dry warehouse space, 6,000 square-feet of freezer space and a newly expanded Volunteer Center.

2012

The Regional Food Bank starts its Food & Resource Center (FRC) Program to encourage partner agencies to provide greater access to food by extending hours and days of operation, provide client-choice shopping, increase access to fresh fruit and vegetables and create ways to connect clients to other resources to begin addressing root causes of food insecurity. The FRC program now has 15 locations across central and western Oklahoma.

2013

After a devastating tornado tears through the Oklahoma City metro, the Regional Food Bank establishes a temporary disaster relief center in Moore to distribute food, water and supplies. It soon became apparent that there was a real need for ongoing food assistance in Moore, south Oklahoma City and Norman. As a result, the Regional Food Bank established the Food & Resource Center in Moore that today serves 1,900 families a month.

2019

In the fall of 2019, the Regional Food Bank’s board of directors adopted a new mission and vision statement for the organization to help provide direction for the nonprofit.

Mission Statement: Lead a network that provides nutritious food and pathways to self-sufficiency for people facing hunger.

Vision Statement: An Oklahoma where no one goes hungry.

2020

The Regional Food Bank shifts into disaster relief mode in response to the impact of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. Relying upon its core values of innovation, vitality and stewardship the staff works to ensure that the network of partners had the food and safety supplies in order to safely serve the growing need of Oklahomans seeking food assistance. In April, the Regional Food Bank distributed 6.2 million pounds, a new record for a single month.

The organization’s second CEO, Katie Fitzgerald, resigns to accept the COO position at Feeding America.

In mid-October, the board hires Stacy Dykstra as the Regional Food Bank’s third CEO in 40 years.

The year 2020 marked the 40th anniversary of the organization.

2021

In partnership with the Oklahoma City Housing Authority, the Regional Food Bank opens its first Senior Pantry on-site at the Jeltz-McGuire senior centers.

The Regional Food Bank launched a new brand on Feb. 3, 2021, marking the first significant change to the organization’s logo in more than 30 years. Learn more about the meaning behind the new look here.

Our Brand

2022

The inaugural OKC Restaurant Week features 45 locally operated restaurants and raises nearly $80,000 for Oklahomans living with hunger.

The Food for Kids match fundraising campaign raises a record breaking $1,005,482.

Google.org partners with the Regional Food Bank to provide $250,000 to deliver meals to Oklahomans in need of food assistance and build long-term technology solutions to scale impact and provide Oklahomans greater access to resources.

2023

Magnify OK, a lived experience program, graduates its first class. Graduates are a mix of Oklahoma residents who have experienced hunger in their past or are currently living with food insecurity. The program gives attendees a deep dive into the Regional Food Bank and its programs in an attempt to better serve Oklahomans living with hunger.

The Regional Food Bank becomes one of the first Feeding America partners to offer orderable produce to its network, significantly increasing the amount of healthy produce distributed across central and western Oklahoma.