Welcome to The Feed — a quick update about the tremendous impact YOU — our donors, partner agencies, volunteers, and the eastern Oklahoma community make! We could not fight hunger without you!
Community Rises to Meet Need During SNAP Funding Crisis
We want to thank our donors for rising to meet the urgent needs of our neighbors during the SNAP funding freeze. In November, SNAP funding was frozen due to the government shutdown, creating a crisis unlike anything we have experienced before. In response to the accelerated need, the Food Bank invested one million dollars from reserves to purchase food. Our staff and volunteers worked around the clock to ensure food reached pantries across our 24-county service area. During the month of November alone, the Food Bank distributed nearly four million pounds of food to neighbors in need.
As we moved quickly to respond, we were overwhelmed by the generosity of our community. Through financial gifts, food donations, and countless acts of support, you helped ensure families did not go hungry during this critical time. We could not have done this work without your compassion and generosity. As you know, the Food Bank does not receive state or federal funding for operations and is supported exclusively through private dollars from our community. We are deeply grateful to have you standing with us in service to our neighbors.
We have now returned to normal operations. Unfortunately, our normal is not where we want to be. We are entering the season of highest need for the pantries we serve, and we have just received a forecast that TEFAP, the food we receive through the federal USDA program, will experience an 87 percent decrease at the start of the new year. Please follow the link below to learn how you can help prepare for the incoming need in January.
Fox 23 Viewers Raised More than $106,000 during Lift Up Families
Our inaugural Lift Up Families event with Fox23 was an incredible success—raising more than $106,000, with donations still coming in! Fox23 Reporter Paige Orr spent the entire day broadcasting live from a scissor lift alongside our CEO Jeff Marlow. With every new donation, the lift rose higher, and together they popped balloons to mark each milestone.
A heartfelt thank you to the Carol Tandy Foundation for their generous $50,000 gift; Bob and Nancy Burris for providing a $30,000 match; and the Ed Darby Foundation, Cori and Michael Lyon, and Oklahoma Central Credit Union for their contributions of $5,000 each.
We are deeply grateful to everyone who gave so generously and made this day truly extraordinary.
OK Table Summit—Seaboard Foods Donates
40,000 Pounds of Sausage!
Seaboard Foods generously donated more than 3,000 cases of sausage—everything from mild Italian to maple—totaling an incredible 40,000 pounds!
This gift was part of the Oklahoma Pork Council’s Give‑A‑Ham campaign and played a major role in our OK Table Summit, which brought together pantry partners, civic leaders, food manufacturers, farmers, and other key contributors dedicated to strengthening Oklahoma’s food system.
We were also joined by members of local Future Farmers of America chapters for a fantastic afternoon focused on identifying real solutions to address the growing hunger needs in our communities.
Reasor's Donates Nearly $80,000 in Food Items to Support Families During Christmas Season
We are once again grateful to Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC), the parent company of Reasor’s, for its generous donation of nearly $80,000 in food to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. This incredible contribution includes 1,300 hams and a full truckload of fresh produce.
The hams were provided through BGC’s partnership with Hormel Foods Corporation to help ensure families in our community have access to holiday meals. In addition, we received 40,000 pounds of fresh produce—valued at $65,000—to further support those facing food insecurity this season.
You can learn more about this effort and the grand re-opening event it was part of here
| Volunteer Highlight |
Tulsa Boy's Home—Buffalo Lodge
Founded in 1918, the Tulsa Boy’s Home (TBH) began in a 2-story house in downtown Tulsa. Its first two boys were found in an alley sleeping in trash boxes. This year, TBH celebrates 106 years of serving over 14,000 boys who have either been displaced, abused, and/or faced substance abuse.
Over the last two years, the TBH (Buffalo Lodge) has routinely volunteered at the Food Bank, bringing a total of 20 young boys serving 82 hours thus far! TBH manager, Alecsis Davis, says they bring the boys to the Food Bank because it teaches teamwork, responsibility, and the value of giving back. “It’s a hands-on way for them to build skills, help the community, and see the positive impact of their action. It gives them a sense of purpose and pride in giving back and is a real confidence builder for the boys.”
The boys have shared that they really enjoy the atmosphere and the people at the Food Bank. They also say they love seeing how their work truly helps others in the community. The Food Bank is privileged to share this partnership with these outstanding young men. TBH, we truly appreciate your support, time, and efforts to our mission
| Partner Agency Highlight |
St. Andrew Community Mission
In the midst of the recent government shutdown, St. Andrew Community Mission went above and beyond to care for a neighbor in need—offering not just food, but genuine compassion and connection. When the Food Bank learned that Mr. Dusty*, a local senior, was without transportation to access food pantry assistance, we reached out to St. Andrew Community Mission, one of our food pantry partners. They were able to support Mr. Dusty by providing a direct delivery of food pantry items to his home. During their visit, they learned he would have some family in town for Thanksgiving, so they saw an opportunity to serve in a deeper way. In addition to pantry support, team members from St. Andrew Community Mission prepared and delivered a full home-cooked Thanksgiving meal to Mr. Dusty on Thanksgiving morning, ensuring the family could gather and celebrate together with dignity and joy. The ripple effect of this act of kindness didn’t stop there. A local barber who overheard the story felt moved to help as well, contributing additional groceries and even offering Mr. Dusty a ride to attend a nearby church.
St. Andrew Community Mission shared that they are “just happy to serve” and grateful for the opportunities they are given to demonstrate love and compassion to others. Stories like this remind us that when our partners lead with heart, entire communities are strengthened. We are incredibly thankful for St. Andrew Community Mission and their unwavering commitment to serving neighbors.
*Name changed for privacy purposes.
Did You Know?
Did you know that we partner with more than 10,000 volunteers per year to sort food, pack meal kits, and support distributions? This saves the food bank approximately $1,865,151 per year in labor that it would be unable to sustainably support otherwise.
In the News
Flora Burris, 83, finds joy in volunteering at the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma – Newson6.com
http://mms.tveyes.com/PlaybackPortal.aspx?SavedEditID=53a5d696-685c-4846-8885-dcf259df093a
https://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/reasors-and-the-food-bank-of-eastern-oklahoma-are-partnering-in-the-give-a-gobble-event-on-nov-18
https://www.newson6.com/tulsa-oklahoma-news/give-a-gobble-day-broken-arrow-thanksgiving
Reasor’s, Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma partner to ‘Give a Gobble’
https://www.fox23.com/news/the-food-bank-of-eastern-oklahoma-and-reasors-team-up-for-first-annual-give-a/article_a083c4e4-7df4-43f6-9e23-9604e1c239b1.html
Need is great at area food banks after reserve funds tapped (Tulsa World)
Here’s how far Oklahoma’s emergency food bank funding will go. TL;DR not far.
Here’s how you can make an affordable dinner for Thanksgiving
Hardesty Family Foundation donates $100,000 to Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma | News | fox23.com
Oklahoma hunters urged to donate venison to feed the hungry this holiday season
https://www.fox23.com/news/food-bank-of-eastern-oklahoma-receives-9-4-million-tset-legacy-grant-to-launch-statewide/article_07f0f2d8-1427-42ed-94bd-4316d3d63cb6.html
Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma receives $9.4 million TSET Legacy Grant to launch statewide school meal initiative – 102.3 KRMG
$9.4 million grant to feed Oklahoma’s children healthier school meals
https://tulsaworld.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_e8eb5dfe-ee4c-45a8-98a6-5e9a7f244601.html
https://www.kgou.org/health/2025-11-24/tset-awards-nearly-150-million-in-legacy-grants-to-expand-improve-oklahoma-health-care
Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma Lift Up Families event raises over $100,000 | News | fox23.com
Video: Seaboard Foods and Oklahoma Pork Council partner to donate 40,000 pounds of pork to the Food Bank | News | fox23.com
