Sept. 13, 2023 – Learning can’t begin until hunger ends. Through Sept. 30, every donation to the Regional Food Bank’s Food for Kids Programs is matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to $300,0000 thanks to the Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma, Chesapeake Energy, Mark and Beth Brewer, Dolese Bros. Corp, Energy Transfer, David Gorham, David and Lezlie Hudiburg and Marathon Oil. KOCO 5 News, official television sponsor of the Food for Kids Match, will feature the impact of the Food for Kids Programs throughout the match.

“We are thrilled to support the Regional Food Bank and their Food for Kids Programs,” said Chris Curia, chairman of the Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation. “Strengthening local communities by prioritizing critical issues, such as hunger and health, is essential to us. The work that the food bank does to fight hunger in central and western Oklahoma positively impacts the lives of so many.”

Oklahoma is consistently ranked as one of the hungriest states in the nation. The state also ranks among the worst for childhood food insecurity. The Regional Food Bank’s four Food for Kids Programs help children and their families in all 53 counties served by the Regional Food Bank in central and western Oklahoma.

“Hungry children cannot learn. The Regional Food Bank works hard every day to provide essential nutrition for thousands of Oklahoma children so they can thrive,” said Stacy Dykstra, chief executive officer of the Regional Food Bank. “We couldn’t do that without the incredible generosity of our match sponsors, like Energy Transfer, and our donors.”

The Food for Kids Programs are the Backpack Program, the School Pantry Program, the Summer Feeding Program and Kids Cafés.

The School Pantry Program provides chronically hungry middle and high school students with food to sustain them after school and over the weekends and during school holidays. Located on school grounds, school pantries make accessing nutritious food easy for the students. Jesse, a school pantry coordinator in Oklahoma County, said having an on-site pantry means they can send food home with the students, and they know it’s helping to provide meals for the entire family.

“The pantry has been such a blessing to the families of our students,” Jesse said. “Many of the students rely on school lunches as their main source of food.”

Make a donation to the Food for Kids Match today at foodforkids.us or call 405-600-3136. An automatic $10 donation can be made by texting “Kids” to 501-501