Community Food Bank Eastern Oklahoma

PROJECT PURPOSE

CFBEO seeks to establish multiple Food & Resource Centers across its 24-county service area in strategic locations to bring direct-service opportunities closer to food-insecure neighbors and increase support to our partner agency network. These Food & Resource Centers will offer direct pantry assistance and wraparound services, such as SNAP application assistance, to food-insecure neighbors as well as act as a hub for CFBEO partner agencies to receive product for direct assistance in their communities. Additionally, these FRCs will collaborate with existing community resources to serve and empower local communities.

EVIDENCE

In 2012, CFBEO established a branch in McAlester that enabled us to store and distribute food more efficiently and consistently to areas which previously were difficult to reach out of our Tulsa facility. By adding additional distribution hubs in strategic locations of our service area, we will increase the amount of food distributed to agencies and people in need in outer lying areas. Additionally, by providing SNAP application assistance to food-insecure populations in these areas, we will be putting more dollars into the local economy, considering that every $1 in SNAP benefits puts $1.70 back into Oklahoma?s economy.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

CFBEO?s service area was dramatically impacted by COVID-19 with people facing food-insecurity reaching an all-time high. Our pantries saw an average increase of 136% more households accessing food assistance programs than before the pandemic. According to Feeding America, 20 of the 24 counties served by CFBEO contain a higher-than-average percentage of people who fall below the SNAP threshold of 130% poverty. By hiring from these communities and offering SNAP application assistance at the FRCs, we will aid the financial stability of food-insecure people in these areas and pump more dollars into local Oklahoma economies.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

CFBEO will be able to directly measure the pounds of food distributed and numbers of people assisted at each location through integrated inventory and intake systems. Each FRC would track the number of food-insecure households receiving grocery assistance, SNAP applications submitted, and other demographic data of people being served. Indirectly, CFBEO will monitor food-insecurity and poverty rates in its service area provided by Feeding America to determine if FRCs are achieving desired outcomes. Interviews and cross-sectional studies with people served by FRCs will collect qualitative data to assess impact.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma