(OKLAHOMA CITY) – April 17, 2018 – The following statement is from Katie Fitzgerald, Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma:
“The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma expressed dismay at language included in the 2018 Farm Bill by the House Agriculture Committee that would significantly reduce food assistance to Oklahomans living with hunger. Particularly, the deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be devastating to the clients we serve, and there is no way charities like ours can make up the difference.
“Our food bank is part of the fabric of central and western Oklahoma and feeding neighbors in need is a shared responsibility. Each day we see the partnership reflected among our community-based partner agencies, volunteers and donors in the 53 counties we serve. But the nonprofit sector cannot do this alone — for every one meal provided by Feeding America’s network, of which the Regional Food Bank is a member, the SNAP program provides 12. SNAP is a cornerstone federal nutrition program and vital to addressing hunger in Oklahoma and across the country. It is also critical to our state’s economy, generating business for retailers and related jobs.
“While we understand that a piece of legislation like the Farm Bill involves compromises and competing priorities, ensuring that Oklahomans and all Americans have the ability to put food on the table should be considered fundamental. Any reductions to the SNAP program whatsoever should be deemed unacceptable by Congress.”
About the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is the state’s largest hunger-relief organization and a member of Feeding America’s network of Food Banks. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit provides enough food to feed more than 136,000 hungry Oklahomans each week through a network of more than 1,300 schools and charitable feeding programs in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties. Since its inception in 1980, the Regional Food Bank has distributed more than 613 million pounds of food to feed Oklahomans living with hunger. For more information, visit http://www.regionalfoodbank.org; find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/regionalfoodbank or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/rfbo.
