July 29, 2021 – The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma has been awarded a $50,000 grant from CVS Health, which will help reduce overall health care costs and improve health outcomes for Oklahomans living with food insecurity.

“This generous grant from CVS Health will be a tremendous help in connecting Oklahomans living with hunger to the food and resources they need to live a healthier lifestyle,” said Stacy Dykstra, chief executive officer of the Regional Food Bank. “We are so grateful to CVS Health for making a positive change in the communities where their employees live and work.”

With nearly 10,000 local stores in communities across the country, CVS Health is delivering on its purpose of helping people on their path to better health through strategic community investments. The company supports communities in a variety of ways from providing innovative new services and transformative programs that help manage chronic conditions, to making health care more accessible, more affordable and simply better.

“As part of our commitment to address the social determinants of health, and to break down the barriers for people to access quality affordable health care, we’re proud to support the Regional Food Bank’s work in central and western Oklahoma for those who need it most,” said Eileen Howard Boone, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy for CVS Health, and president of the CVS Health and Aetna Foundations.

The grant will be split to help expand the Regional Food Bank’s Healthy Pantry Certification Program and its Senior Servings Program.

The Healthy Pantry Certification Program works to improve knowledge among the Regional Food Bank’s partners on how healthy and unhealthy food affects individuals living with food insecurity. The program encourages partners to increase their capacity to provide more access to fresh fruits and vegetables. It also provides partners with nutritional nudges to help encourage individuals to choose healthy food and meals.

Through the Senior Servings Program, the Regional Food Bank provides healthy, frozen meals prepared in its production kitchen, Hope’s Kitchen. The meals are available to adults over the age of 60 who have been identified as having limitations in endurance, cognition and physical mobility to prepare meals at home. These limitations directly impact senior food insecurity and nutritional status by making things like acquiring, preparing, cooking and consuming meals more difficult.

Learn more about the Regional Food Bank’s fight against hunger in Oklahoma by visiting rfbo.org.