It’s Time to Volunteer: Earn Your Student Volunteer Hours During This Hunger Action Month

It’s time for you to volunteer. September is Hunger Action Month, and it’s the perfect time to sign up and get your student volunteer hours taken care of — while doing something that genuinely matters. Whether you’re a high schooler who needs service hours for National Honor Society, a scholarship application, or a class requirement, or you’re a teacher or parent looking for a meaningful group project, the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma has an easy, flexible way to check that box: Pack Away Hunger.

Best of all, this isn’t busywork. Every hour you log goes directly toward feeding a hungry kid in your own community.

Why Student Volunteers Matter Right Now

Every week, 1 in 4 Oklahoma children struggles with hunger. More than 60% rely on free or reduced-price school lunches, and for many of them, those are the only reliable meals they get all day. When school doors close for the weekend or a holiday break, far too many kids go home to empty refrigerators and missed meals.

That’s exactly where student volunteers step in. Oklahoma is the nation’s fifth most food-insecure state, and it doesn’t take a warehouse full of adults to fight that — it takes students, classrooms, clubs, and families willing to help feed hungry kids, one backpack at a time.

Hunger Action Month exists to turn that awareness into action, and September is the natural time to launch a classroom project, kick off a club initiative, or simply knock out a service-hour requirement before the semester gets busy. A single afternoon of packing can supply weeks of weekend meals for kids in your own school district — which is part of why Pack Away Hunger has become one of the most popular volunteer ideas for Tulsa-area students and teachers alike.

What Is Pack Away Hunger?

Pack Away Hunger supports the Food Bank’s Backpack for Kids program, which sends kid-friendly, nutritious food home with students who might not otherwise have a reliable weekend meal. Volunteers help pack backpacks filled with easy-to-prepare food, so a child has something to eat between Friday afternoon and Monday morning — or over a school break.

It’s one of the simplest, most flexible volunteer ideas for students and families in Tulsa, and it was built with exactly this kind of hands-on, high-impact service in mind.

Why It’s a Great Fit for Students, Clubs, and Families

• Easy to participate. No special training or experience needed — just a willingness to help and a shopping list.
• Can be done at home. Pack on your own schedule, whether that’s after school, on a weekend, or during a break.
• Fun to do as a group. A great activity for student organizations, sports teams, and clubs looking for a team volunteer project.
• A great way to earn volunteer hours. You don’t have to be fulfilling a service-hour requirement to take part, but if you are, you’ll receive official credit for participating.

There’s no minimum age requirement and no special skill set required — just students, teachers, and parents ready to pack a few boxes and make a real difference.

What’s Inside a Pack Away Hunger Meal Kit

Every kit is built around easy-to-prepare, kid-friendly staples that don’t require a stove, oven, or refrigerator — the instruction sheet walks you through exactly which shelf-stable items to gather for each backpack, so there’s no guesswork. That makes it simple for a student, a family, or a classroom to shop for a kit in a single trip and have it ready to pack the same day.

Because every kit follows the same list, a club or classroom can divide the work: some students shop and collect items, others assemble the backpacks, and others handle labeling and delivery logistics. It’s an easy way to give every student in a group a role, whether they have thirty minutes or an entire afternoon to give.

Three Ways to Get Involved

• Pack Backpacks. Gather the food items listed on the instruction sheet and pack a backpack meal kit on your own schedule — perfect for an individual student who needs hours quickly, or for a family project.
• Collect Food Items. Use the instruction sheet to see exactly what’s needed for each meal kit, then organize a food collection at your school, church, or club — a simple way to turn a class period or club meeting into a food pantry volunteer project.
• Sponsor or Host a Packing Event. Ideal for student organizations, NHS chapters, sports teams, and youth groups. Turn a club meeting or practice into a fun group volunteer event, complete with a promo poster and instruction sheet the Food Bank provides.

Ready-to-use resources — an instruction sheet, a promo poster, and a church/organization poster — are all available to download, so your teacher, coach, or club sponsor can plan the event in minutes.

Questions about getting your class, club, or family started? Reach the Pack Away Hunger program organizer at p.easley@okfoodbank.org or 918-936-4593.

Volunteer Ideas for Every Kind of Student Group

• For individual students: Log NHS, Beta Club, or Key Club hours, strengthen a scholarship or college application, or simply give back on your own schedule.
• For student organizations and clubs: Turn a regular meeting into a packing event, or challenge another club to a friendly food-collection competition.
• For teachers: Build a service-learning project around Pack Away Hunger, tie it into a health, civics, or leadership unit, or run it as a before- or after-school club activity.
• For parents and families: Make it a weekend family activity, a homeschool community-service project, or a scouting service badge.

Other Ways Students Can Rack Up Volunteer Hours at FBEO

If your student or group wants an in-person, warehouse-style shift in addition to Pack Away Hunger, the Food Bank also offers standard sorting and packing shifts at our Tulsa location on weekdays, evenings, and weekends — so there’s an option that works around school, sports, and family schedules.

• Weekday and weekend volunteer shifts: Choose from morning, afternoon, or evening volunteer slots throughout the week, including Saturdays.
• Group volunteering: Student organizations and classes of 6 to 35 people can register together through the group volunteer sign-up form.
• McAlester location: Students and families outside the Tulsa area can ask about volunteer opportunities closer to home at our McAlester location.

Combining a Pack Away Hunger event with a standard volunteer shift is a great way for a student organization to rack up meaningful hours together while learning firsthand how the Food Bank works. A club might, for example, spend one meeting collecting and packing backpacks, then follow up the next month with a sorting shift in the Tulsa warehouse — giving members a fuller picture of how food moves from donation to delivery.

For teachers building a full semester of service-learning around hunger relief, that combination also opens the door to classroom discussion: comparing what a Pack Away Hunger kit looks like next to a warehouse pallet of donated food helps students understand the full supply chain behind ending childhood hunger in Oklahoma.

How to Register and Track Your Hours

• Standard shifts: Sign up through the Volunteer Hub, which automatically logs your food bank volunteer hours every time you check in for a shift.
• Pack Away Hunger: Contact the program organizer directly so your participation is recorded and you receive official credit toward your student volunteer hour requirement.
• Groups: Even within a class, club, or family group, each participant should register individually so every student’s hours are properly documented.

Whichever path you choose, keep any confirmation email or receipt from the Food Bank — it’s the easiest way to verify your hours for a school, scholarship, or club requirement. If your school requires a signature or a specific hours-verification form, bring it along or send it ahead to the program organizer so it can be completed the same day as your event.

A Step-by-Step Guide for Teachers and Club Sponsors

• Reach out to the program organizer. Email p.easley@okfoodbank.org or call 918-936-4593 to let the Food Bank know your class, club, or team wants to participate, and to ask any questions about timing or minimum group size.
• Download the resources. Grab the instruction sheet and the promo or church/organization poster so students know exactly what to collect and how to spread the word.
• Pick a date and a goal. Whether it’s a single club meeting or a week-long collection drive, set a clear date and a target number of backpacks so students have something concrete to work toward.
• Collect the items. Use the instruction sheet as a shopping and donation checklist. Many groups turn this into a mini food drive, asking each member to bring one or two items.
• Host the packing event. Assign roles — shopping, assembling, labeling, and logistics — so every student has a job and the event moves quickly and smoothly.
• Confirm hours and delivery. Contact the program organizer to confirm how many kits were packed, arrange drop-off, and request official documentation of each participating student’s volunteer hours.

This structure works whether you’re a teacher running a single class period, a club sponsor coordinating an after-school event, or a parent organizing a weekend project with a few families.

Frequently Asked Questions for Students and Parents

• Do I need to be a certain age to participate? No minimum age is required for Pack Away Hunger, which makes it especially popular with families and younger students, alongside high schoolers logging service hours.
• Do I have to need service hours to take part? Not at all. You’re welcome to volunteer simply because you want to help — but if you do need documented hours, you’ll receive official credit for participating.
• Can my entire club or sports team participate together? Sponsoring or hosting a packing event is one of the most popular group volunteer ideas for student organizations, and the Food Bank can help you plan around your group’s size and schedule.
• How do I prove my hours to my school or scholarship committee? Contact the Pack Away Hunger program organizer after your event so your participation is recorded and keep any confirmation you receive as backup documentation.
• Is there a cost to participate? Participating in Pack Away Hunger simply means gathering the listed food items. There’s no registration fee to take part.