You’re Helping Feed Oklahoma’s Hungry Children!

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“Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope” ™

2016SUMMER

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REGIONAL FOOD BANK OF OKLAHOMA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS:ChairTressa Madden, Community LeaderVice ChairRay Haefele, Tyson Foods (Ret.)TreasurerJames R. Hopper, Oklahoma Restaurant AssociationSecretaryKaren Jacobs, Oklahoma Dept. of Human ServicesBOARD MEMBERS:Jamey Allen, Oklahoma Dept. of AgricultureMark Brewer, Seagate Technology Brandon Brown, Chesapeake Energy CorporationJim Brooks, Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products CenterJerry Dyer, All American Building ProductsWayne Epperson, Fleming Foods (Ret.)Brecklyn Ferrell, Lopez Foods IncorporatedPeggy Garrett, Urban Mission Food Resource CenterMark Harsha, Alliance Harsha AdvertisingClydene Howard, Walmart Supercenters (OKC)Jessica Martinez-Brooks, Community LeaderNorma Noble, Community LeaderShelli Osborn, Cox CommunicationsKirk Purnell, Ben E. Keith

Dear Friend,It’s nearly summertime again, and the Regional Food Bank’s

distribution center is busier than ever. That’s because the harsh, hot months of summer are the hungriest for the children of Oklahoma.

This is the time of year when thousands of boys and girls across our state lose access to the free and reduced-price breakfasts and lunches they receive at school. They count on the food you help provide ― and their families need our help to replace these critical meals.

If it weren’t for the support of generous friends like you … I shudder to think of all the kids in our community who might go hungry.

Thanks to you, children from struggling families can avoid hunger by visiting one of our many Summer Feeding programs. At these sites, located across central and western Oklahoma, they can receive the nutritious meals they need to stay healthy and active all summer long. Seeing these programs in action gives me hope that our hunger-relief efforts are making a real difference — with huge gains for our children and community.

As you’ve probably heard by now, my time leading the Regional Food Bank is drawing to a close. You and I have made progress toward solving hunger in our community, and I can’t wait to see what impact we’ll continue to make under the guidance of the new executive director.

While this is certainly a time of great change at the Regional Food Bank, one thing is a constant — the Food Bank’s commitment to the children, families and seniors we serve together. I hope they can continue to count on your support now and in the future. Thank you.

Dina was at the end of her rope. With little income and mounting back-to-school expenses for her children last fall, she reached the point where she wasn’t able to pay her bills and fill her kitchen cabinets. Fortunately, a friend told her about Mission 405, a Regional Food Bank partner agency near her neighborhood.

As a single mom, making ends meet is always tough on Dina’s salary as a teacher’s assistant. But the summertime, when her three school-aged kids are at home and without access to the free meals they normally receive at school, is the most difficult. Buying enough healthy food to feed her family is nearly impossible at this time of year – which is why she’s so grateful to have access to food through Mission 405.

If it weren’t for the help of generous friends like you, Dina doesn’t know how her kids would get the nourishment they need during June, July

and August. Tightly gripping the bag of the food she received today, she explains just what your generosity means to her family in practical terms.

“This helps us with basic groceries, especially when the kids are off for vacation,” Dina says. “It helps us stretch what we buy at the store.”

As she returns home to make dinner for her family, she thinks about her three growing children, and she’s especially grateful they love the fruits and vegetables your gifts make possible.

Her daughter, Dya, 6, just finished a great year in kindergarten. She loves math and is an all-star at spelling. Dina knows the fresh, wholesome food she’s able to bring home will help Dya’s body and mind continue to develop during the summer so she can thrive in first grade. Dina knows her kids will have a bright future because you choose to give.

“Thank you very much,” she says, expressing her sincere gratitude for your generous gifts.

A Note of Gratitude for You from a Parent

Dina & Dya

“We make a living by what we get...

but we make a life by what we give.”

- Winston Churchill

RODNEY W. BIVENSExecutive Director

Steve Riggs, USPS (Retired) and NALCAvis Scaramucci, The Painted DoorKim Shoemake, BKD, LLPBen Williams, Devon Energy Corporation

FOODLINK BOARD OF DIRECTORSOFFICERS:ChairMarian Moon, Community Leader

Vice ChairRobert Clements, Clements Foods Company

Secretary Peggy Garrett, Urban Mission Food Resource CenterBOARD MEMBERS:Cindy Batt, Bank of OklahomaJames R. Hopper, Oklahoma Restaurant AssociationMichael E. Joseph, McAfee & TaftTressa Madden, Community LeaderSharon Neuwald, SFN ConsultingG. Rainey Williams, Marco Capital Group ALP

LEGAL COUNSELMichael E. Joseph, McAfee & Taft

REGIONAL FOOD BANK FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS:ChairKyle Essmiller, CP EnergyVice ChairPhil Cook, Devon Energy Corporation (Ret.)TreasurerG. Rainey Williams, Marco Capital Group ALPSecretaryAdam Rainbolt, Wilcox & McGrath InsuranceBOARD MEMBERS:Gary Allison, Tri-State Industrial GroupSherry Barton, New York Life CompanyWilliam Buergler, Chesapeake Energy CorporationIsabel Chancellor, IngenuitE, Inc.Jeff Click, Jeff Click Homes, LLCKaren Cunningham, Oklahoma Financial Center, Inc.Derek B. Gill, CrossFirst BankJohn Kapchinske, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Ret.)Holly Luke, Community LeaderMarian Moon, Community LeaderPatricia Murphy, Community LeaderMelinda Newport, The Chickasaw NationJoy Parduhn, Exencial Wealth AdvisorsGail Wynne, Carlisle Collection

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Join In!Oklahoma Gazette’s 2016 OKC Restaurant Week June 6 – 12Participating OKC Restaurant Week venues will donate $1 for every prix fixe lunch and $2 for every prix fixe dinner to Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s Food for Kids program. Not only will diners receive custom-made delicious selections for a great price, but each one will also be helping provide a meal to someone in need. For more information call, 405-604-7109.

Seafood Nutrition PartnershipSeafood Nutrition Partnership will donate one meal to the Regional Food Bank for every Oklahoman who signs the Healthy Heart Pledge. To sign up, visit www.seafoodnutrition.org.

Backpacks with a Purpose (B-WAP)Oklahoma-based B-WAP partners with the Regional Food Bank to provide backpacks for children to fight childhood hunger with their new line of bags. For every B-WAP backpack purchased, two backpacks are donated to the nonprofit. For more information visit www.b-wap.com.

Food for All Truck Throughout the year, guest Chefs will operate this roving pop- up kitchen-on-wheels. Net proceeds from the truck benefit the Regional Food Bank. For more information, download the “Truck It OKC” app to stay informed on upcoming dates and locations.

Thank You!

Strike A Pose for Hunger Nearly 20 yoga studios around Oklahoma City, Edmond and Norman held donation-based classes to benefit the Regional Food Bank through the fifth annual Strike a Pose for Hunger in January. In total, $5,256 was raised, which will provide 26,280 meals for Oklahomans at risk of hunger.

Chefs’ Feast The 29th annual event in March raised $111,000 in net proceeds. More than 825 guests enjoyed an evening of amazing food, excellent wine and great company! Thanks go out to our chefs, sponsors, volunteers and staff for making the event a success! And Congratulations to Dunway Hospitality Group, who won the 2016 Foodie Favorite Award.

Jersey Mike’s Give Back Day Jersey Mike’s donated 100 percent of the day’s sales on March 30 to the Regional Food Bank, with additional donations collected from customers throughout the month of March. In total, the effort raised $50,000 for Food for Kids! Over the past five years, the event has raised nearly $200,000 for the Regional Food Bank.

City, State and Federal Employees Give BackThank you to all city, state and federal employees for their support during the Heart of the City Campaign, State

Thank You for Helping Feed Hungry Oklahomans!

Charitable Campaign and Combined Federal Campaign. Your gifts make a difference in the lives of thousands of families, seniors and children in our state.

Partner Agency ConferenceThank you to presenting sponsor Brad Cecil & Associates and sponsors Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center, Stephenson Cancer Center and INTEGRIS! Our partner agencies had the opportunity to network with each other and access resources to help them better serve the hungry in their community at the seventh annual Partner Agency Conference.

“Fight Hunger. Spark Change.”Between March 28 and April 5, Walmart encouraged customers to purchase specially marked products, donate at the register and include the hashtag #FightHunger on social media as part of a nationwide campaign to raise funds for Feeding America food banks. Within the first two weeks, more than $1.5 million was raised through the social media campaign alone!

Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers’ Food & Fund DriveThank you to our event sponsors, letter carriers and community for your support of the Feeding Hope and Letter Carriers’ Food & Fund Drive in May! The event, presented by Devon Energy Corporation, was a huge success. Final results will be posted online at regionalfoodbank.org.

Devon Employees Stuff the Truck!A big thank you to Devon Energy Corporation and its employees, who helped sort thousands of pounds of food from the Letter Carriers’ Food Drive during their annual “Stuff the Truck” event held at the Cox Center in May. This annual event allows theRegional Food Bank to distribute the donated food to partner agencies and into the homes of our hungry neighbors quickly and efficiently.

Senior Hunger Match CampaignThank you to the Charles and Cassandra Bowen CharitableFoundation and two anonymous families for their generous matching challenge gift of $120,000 to the Senior Hunger Match Campaign. With your support, the campaign, which ran March 1 – April 30, raised a total of $272,955.01!

S&B’S Burger Fights HungerS&B’S Burger donated $2,332 to the Regional Food Bank from their pre-opening fundraiser in April. Over the past three years, S&B’s has raised more than $6,900 for the Regional Food Bank — we appreciate their support!

Arvest Bank’s 1 Million Meals CampaignThank you to Arvest Bank for raising millions of meals for hungry

neighbors in more than 120 communities, including central and western Oklahoma. The two-month, bank-wide effort ran from April 4 through May 28 and encouraged patrons to make donations to help fight hunger.

The Walmart FoundationThe Walmart Foundation awarded the Regional Food Bank $65,000 through its State Giving Program to fund the purchase of a new, refrigerated Sprinter van. The van will transport nutritious food prepared in the Regional Food Bank’s new production facility, Hope’s Kitchen, to Food for Kids Summer Feeding and Kids Cafe sites.

2015-2016 FFA Hunger ChallengeThanks to FFA students and chapters across the state, 513 animals were donated to make beef and pork sticks for Food for Kids. In total, 767,838 sticks were donated to fight childhood hunger through the Backpack Program. FFA Chapters also donated $4,868.50, which was matched by the Oklahoma Beef Council for a total donation of $9,737. Thank you to all of the students and chapters for fighting hunger in Oklahoma!

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Annette has worked hard all her life, and until recently, she never needed help putting food on the table.

But she’s learned to ask for help for the sake of Massiah, her 10-year-old grandson. Annette has cared for Massiah since he was born. Over the years, she’s seen him grow into an active, fun-loving child.

Annette had no trouble providing for herself and Massiah on her income from her hourly retail job. But then, the unexpected happened — her car was impounded and she couldn’t afford to get it back. With no transportation to get to work, she soon lost her job. She only recently got her car back and has been frantically looking for work.

Annette has no job offers yet and only a small amount of savings left. Each month, she comes closer to having nothing at all in the bank — which has caused her to reach out for help.

Although she does qualify for some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, it’s not nearly enough to feed both herself and Massiah. And in the summer, this assistance covers even less when her grandson is unable to access his free school meals for nearly three whole months.

Desperate for help, Annette finally decided to take her friend’s advice and visit a Regional Food Bank Food & Resource Center near her neighborhood – and she’s very glad she did. When she first came to Skyline Food & Resource Center in Oklahoma City, she didn’t know what to expect. On

her first visit, she was happy to walk the aisles with her cart just like a regular grocery store, rather than wait in line for a box of food she might or might not be able to use.

Now, because of your support, Annette is certain she’ll be able to cook balanced meals for her precious grandson throughout the summer. Instead of struggling with hunger, he’ll have the energy to play with his friends and prepare for the school year ahead.

Annette wouldn’t have enough food without you. She’s so grateful for your gifts and wants you to know what a difference you’ve made for her family.

“Thank you,” she says. “I appreciate this so much!”

Back in 2010, Scott Thomas watched a news broadcast about the problem of hunger in Oklahoma.

“It gave me flashbacks,” he says. “I had a single mom with no income, we were on food stamps, and there wasn’t a lot of food to go around.”

Scott worked at a pizza parlor at that time and says the leftover slices he was able to take home were breakfast, lunch and dinner for him, his mom and his sister for days at a time.

His family’s struggle with hunger left an indelible impression on Scott, who is the founder of APMEX, an online retailer of precious metals based in Oklahoma City. Because he can relate to the challenges of food-insecure Oklahomans, Scott was drawn to the Regional Food Bank’s mission and has been a financial donor personally and through APMEX for several years.

APMEX employees regularly volunteer at the Regional Food Bank, and last spring, they joined in the Feeding Hope Food & Fund Drive with a fundraising competition. The CEO, CFO and their

teams rivaled to see who could raise the most money, and the losing executive had to wear a chicken suit to work! That was quite a motivator — their efforts raised over $25,000 in one week through bake sales, auctions and reaching out to friends and vendors to support the drive.

This past holiday season, Scott deepened his company’s commitment to hunger relief with a $100,000 gift. At that time, donations to the Regional Food Bank were down significantly compared to the prior year. As many do at year’s end, Scott reviewed his company’s financials — he’d had a good year, and he wanted step up and make a difference with the Regional Food Bank. We couldn’t be more grateful for his generous gift, and his and his employees’ partnership throughout the year.

“If you don’t have food in your belly, it’s tough to make it through the day,” Scott says, speaking from experience. “I feel blessed to be able to support the Regional Food Bank and help feed hungry families, like mine was.”

Scott Thomas & APMEX Are Feeding Hope!Annette’s Grandson Has Food, Thanks

to You

Annette

Providing a Safety Net If your life insurance coverage requirements have changed, please consider transferring that safety net to families in need. By simply changing your policy’s beneficiary to the Regional Food Bank, you can leave a legacy of providing access to nutritious food for years to come.

For more information about this or other gift options, please visit our estate planning page at regionalfoodbank.planmygift.org. To discuss your wishes in greater detail, please contact Chad Haney, director of development at chaney@regionalfoodbank.org or 405-600-3145.

CALL CONGRESS! One in four Oklahoma kids doesn’t always have enough nutritious meals — but you can do something about it! Help children thrive with access to healthy food. Ask your Members of Congress to pass a strong child nutrition bill in 2016.

Just dial Feeding America’s toll-free number, 1-888-398-8702, enter your zip code and you’ll be directed to your Senator and Representative’s office.

The Advocacy and Public Policy Department was made possible through a generous grant from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.

APMEX CEO Ken Lewis and founder Scott Thomas present Regional Food Bank Executive Director Rodney Bivens with a generous $100,000 contribution!

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www.regionalfoodbank.org3355 S. PurdueOklahoma City, OK 73179-7640405-972-1111

Jennifer Samford is Parks & Recreation Director of the city of Pauls Valley. In response to the growing need for food children face during June, July and August, her department has partnered with the Regional Food Bank to provide summer meals at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Now in its second year, the summer program hosts an average of 50 to 75 kids each day. Beyond a morning snack and full lunchtime meal, the program offers several enrichment activities including Mad Science, games, crafts, speakers and more.

Through a partnership with 4-H and OSU Extension, children learn about how food goes from seed to the plate in Farm to You and engage with different animals through Barnyard Palooza. The local school district is also a great partner – the Center is able to utilize a schoolbus to transport the

You’re Helping Provide Summer

Meals!

kids, they store food in the school’s cooler/freezer and the district’s superintendent understands the needs of food-insecure families in the community.

For parents and other caregivers who struggle year-round to put food on the table for their school-aged children, summer is often the most difficult time of year. Because their kids can’t access free and reduced-priced breakfasts and lunches at school, they need help replacing these vital meals each weekday.

Thankfully, there’s a solution. Because you give, the Regional Food Bank is able to provide food to Summer Feeding programs like the one hosted by the Reynolds Center, which gives kids in need the fuel to enjoy their activities and continue healthy development throughout the summer.

As she reflects on the impact your gifts have in her community, Jennifer couldn’t be more appreciative of your support.

“When you come and see the kids you realize how essential this program is,” she says. “Thank you. Your donations impact the overall health of Oklahoma.”

Amahri

The Link is published quarterly by the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, a member of Feeding America.

Comments and questions can be directed to our Development Department at 405-600-3136 or info@regionalfoodbank.org

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This newsletter was made possible in part through the generosity of