INCA Community Services, Inc.

PROJECT PURPOSE

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges to food security across the United States. Consistent access to healthy food options and nutrition are important to overall physical and mental health and well-being. The mission of the Food & Resource Center (FRC) will be based on the Atoka/Coal Food Storehouse and INCA Community Services collaborating to bring more resources and services to the residents of Atoka and Coal counties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This innovative approach is designed to provide a one-stop, complete resource center for residents of both counties to access easily and conveniently. It not only serves the immediate needs of the communities, but it will also help reduce future needs by providing assistance and training to encourage self-sufficiency moving forward.

EVIDENCE

While the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is occurring, the most vulnerable Oklahomans will recover at a much slower pace than others. Single parent households, seniors living on fixed incomes and families who were already struggling to make ends meet prior to COVID-19 are suffering increased food insecurity because of the pandemic. Many of these households are dealing with unemployment, lack of access to childcare and months of unpaid rent and/or utility bills.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Oklahoma is the fifth hungriest state in the nation with a food insecurity rate of 15.1 percent. Unfortunately, rural communities in Oklahoma have an even higher rate of food insecurity. Atoka and Coal counties have two of the highest food insecurity rates in the state. In Atoka County, 17.3 percent of the population are food insecure while in Coal County, 18.1 percent of the residents are food insecure. The new FRC facility is expected to serve up to 750 families per month. It will continue the relationship the Food Storehouse has had with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, and it will incorporate INCA?s Commodities Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) ? a federal program that works to improve the health of low-income seniors, age 60 or older, by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA commodity foods. CSFP is currently limited to serving only 156 seniors per month due to supply and logistical problems of transporting heavy food boxes from the Food Storehouse to INCA?s offices and throughout Atoka or on to Coalgate. The one-stop FRC and the dedicated transportation vehicle for the FRC will eliminate these problems allowing for the seniors on the wait list that need food assistance to be served.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The project will be measured utilizing a variety of resources including our CAPTAIN data input system to track participants, we will track volunteers through a volunteer reporting database, and resources and donations received will be tracked in-house providing stability measures, impact measures, and an overall view of the success of the project.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

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