Over the course of the last week and a half, Oklahoma funneled $1.5 million to regional food banks for direct delivery of meal boxes to Oklahomans. The boxes contain a week's worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner, according to officials at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
The money that helped pay for them — and the flow of which ended with the federal shutdown — came from an emergency appropriation by the Oklahoma State Contingency Board earlier this month.
Of the total, about $1 million went to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and about $500,000 to the Eastern Food Bank of Oklahoma, according to a letter from Gov. Stitt to the Oklahoma Management and Enterprise Services agency, which manages state accounts.
"Weekly disbursements shall be administered by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, which may allocate up to two-thirds of the funds to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and one-third of the funds to the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma (collectively, the "Food Banks")," the letter reads.
An additional $72,000 for software updates at the state human services department was also distributed.
So far, that means about 1,000 boxes were sent directly to Oklahomans in Oklahoma City and the surrounding area just last week, according to Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma spokesperson Austin Prickett.
Prickett said that since the Oklahoma Department of Human Services notified eligible recipients they could apply for a box, the pantry has seen more than 15,000 orders through its website.
Both regional food banks based in Oklahoma City and Tulsa have online portals that link to the Department of Human Services application to receive food.
Regional Food Bank Executive Director Stacy Dykstra said the total number of boxes will likely reach the tens of thousands, but a true projection remains unclear because of changing factors such as food prices, transportation costs and other logistics.
"I want to say we ordered an original 60,000 boxes," Dykstra said. "But in terms of that number… I'm a little unsure because as we negotiate the price, right? And shipping costs, we keep ordering more, right? So that's why I don't know for sure."
Now that the federal shutdown is over, SNAP benefits are again flowing to recipients. And that means the state emergency funds are cut off, even as the high demand for food assistance remains.
What's in the food boxes?
Prickett shared a detailed breakdown of the contents in the boxes being sent to Oklahomans.
Breakfast (7 meals):
Each breakfast includes:
- 1 oz grain – examples: breakfast bar, cereal, or graham crackers
- 1 juice (fruit or vegetable juice)
Lunch & Supper (14 meals total):
Each lunch or supper provides 4–5 components
- 1 oz grain
- 1 vegetable
- 1 fruit
- 1 meat or meat alternative
Example Breakfast menu:
- Cinnamon Toast Crunch Reduced Sugar
- Mango Splash Juice
Example Lunch/Supper Menu:
- Zee Zee's Whole Grain Wheat Crackers
- Chicken Salad (2.9 oz)
- Honey Roasted Sunflower Seeds (1 oz)
- Buddy Fruit – Apple Cinnamon (½ cup)
- Sun Cup Paradise Punch Veggie Juice
