Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is looking for a few good men and women to bring an end to hunger in the state.
The nonprofit is seeking young professionals, ages 24-40, to apply for Leadership Class VII. Applications are due Friday, April 16.
The class connects young professionals who are looking to become more involved in their community and state while raising awareness about the issue of hunger in Oklahoma. Members will take a deep dive into the work of the Regional Food Bank. Throughout the yearlong class, members will adopt several service projects designed to enhance the work of the Regional Food Bank.
Leadership participants will attend 12 meetings during the year and be part of two volunteer events that focus on feeding the hungry in Oklahoma.
“We have several opportunities at our volunteer center for the leadership class to participate in food drives and to help our clients shop for food,” said Regional Food Bank Marketing Manager Austin Prickett. “We encourage more than two events per year but when we have an emergency event we pull from our volunteers.”
The leadership class begins in July and continues until June 22, 2022, with a graduation ceremony. Leadership Class service requires a time commitment of approximately 40 hours per year, or an average of three hours per month for meetings and volunteer opportunities. Members are encouraged to volunteer as much as they can above the requirement.
The leadership class is an opportunity for “young professionals to meet their peers and combine their skills,” Prickett said. “They can collaborate and use their special skills on hunger projects and come up with events to benefit our hungry.”
Leadership Class members should be alert to community concerns that can be addressed by the Regional Food Bank, help communicate the agency’s mission, understand the core values of the Regional Food Bank, serve as advocates helping to raise awareness about the reality of hunger in Oklahoma and promote legislation that addresses the factors that contribute to food insecurity.
Food insecurity is defined as being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Meanwhile, hunger is defined as an individual-level physiological conditions that may result from food insecurity.
According to the Regional Food Bank, 25% of Oklahomans live with food insecurity and 25% of Oklahoma children are food insecure. Statistics also show Oklahoma is the fifth hungriest state in the nation. Data demonstrates the Regional Food Bank largely serves chronically hungry children, senior citizens living on limited incomes and families struggling to make ends meet.
In Comanche County, 19,400 people were food insecure, including 6,430 children. Comanche County has a 15.8% food insecurity rate. These statistics were provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Regional Food Bank and its partner agencies and Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap Data. The information was collected from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.
During that time, more than 1.2 million pounds of food was distributed in Comanche County with a retail value of $1.9 million.
The Regional Food Bank’s programs in Comanche County include Backpack, which served 1,238 students at 28 school sites. In addition, 242 students were served at nine school pantry sites.
Five sites serve as food pantries including Fletcher Food Pantry, Jaime’s Cupboard, Lawton Food & Resource Center, St. Vincent de Paul Society and The Salvation Army of Lawton.
During a year’s time, 68,842 meals and snacks were served at three sites and an additional 283,413 meals and snacks were served as part of residential programs at C. Carter Crane Center for Empowerment and Advancement, Marie Detty Youth and Family, Roadback, The Salvation Army and Sonrise Adult & Teen Challenge, according to information from the Regional Food Bank.
“We cover 53 counties, and more than 1,000 partners work with us,” Prickett said. “It’s a network of food pantries, churches and schools that help out.”
This year, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma will work to replace the Stamp Out Hunger food drive hosted primarily by the U.S. Postal Service. The event was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prickett said details are being worked out on the replacement event.
For more information about the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and its leadership class, visit www.rfbo.org or call (405) 972-1111.