“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ School Pantry Program A program of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s mission is Fighting Hunger… Feeding Hope.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Hunger in Oklahoma 675,000 Oklahomans are at risk of going hungry every day. 1 in 4 children in Oklahoma struggles with hunger. Oklahoma is the 5 th hungriest state in the nation.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Who We Serve… The Regional Food Bank provides enough food to feed more than 90,000 hungry Oklahomans every week. The majority of those served by the Food Bank are families struggling to make ends meet, children living in poverty and seniors living on a fixed income. Many are newly unemployed or underemployed.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Food for Kids Backpack Program Less than 10 years ago, started with 180 children in five elementary schools School Year : Over 15,000 kids 477 schools 53 counties

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ School Pantry Program Hunger does not end when a child graduates from elementary school Hungry secondary students cannot always access a traditional food pantry School Year: Launched pilot program

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Regional Food Bank School Pantry Video

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ The Role and Responsibility of the School Staff

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Identifying Chronically Hungry Children

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Signs of chronic hunger Student may be on Free/Reduced Meals at School Comments about not having enough food at home Identified need during home visit / conversation Regularly asking for food Saving/hoarding/stealing food to take home for themselves or family members Extreme hunger on Monday morning Extreme thinness, Puffy/Swollen Skin, Chronically dry lips/eyes Chronic sickness Inability to concentrate Loss of income Family Crisis

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Signs a child is not chronically hungry: Never visits the pantry. Leaves food at school. Discusses what food he or she has eaten over the weekend. “We really target the chronically hungry child, a child who has little to nothing to eat over the weekend,” said Rodney Bivens, executive director of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ How long should a child participate? SHORT-TERMLONG-TERM Parents in financial trouble due to crisis event Family evicted from home Other temporary situations Family consistently lacks resources for food Family is homeless Child is on his/her own Chronic hunger can be a short-term or long term issue.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Additional information Make sure students who qualify are taking advantage of the free or reduced meal program at your school. Give us a call at or go to the to find more food resources in your community. Click on ‘Get Help’.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Role of the School Pantry Coordinator

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Documentation Referrals Distribution log TIP: You may find it helpful to prepare a binder for your records. Documentation should be kept in a safe place to keep all papers confidential. Documentation is to be kept on site at your school.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Referrals The School Pantry referral form is used by school staff to recommend a child for the program. Keep in mind… Approval is the responsibility of the coordinator. Not all referrals must be approved. Keep your inventory and delivery schedule in mind when adding children to the program. Referral forms are for school- use only.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Distribution Log The food distribution log will help you keep track of how much food you distribute.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Monthly Reports -Survey Monkey -5 Questions – school name, students, visits, stories and any other comments

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Educate Staff Inform all staff members about the program. How they can refer a student When the pantry is open How students receive food Can they volunteer or donate? Presentation at teacher’s meeting All-staff Bulletin board

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Liaison to Students INTERNAL REFERRALS ONLY INTERNAL REFERRALS AND SCHOOL EDUCATION Only staff knows hours and operations of pantry. All Students are aware of the hours and operations of the pantry. Students know how they can self- refer themselves to receive food. Staff may still write referrals for students. It is critical that the students confidentially is maintained no matter which system that you use.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Evaluations, surveys, etc You may periodically be asked to provide information: – Surveys – coordinator, school staff, kids – Stories about the School Pantry program in your school – Monitoring visits These help us demonstrate the value of the program.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Logistics Storage, Delivery and Distribution

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Ordering Food -School coordinator and back-up coordinator attend an online training. -Schools order the food once a month - online

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Delivery Metro OKC area: – Food is delivered to each school – Designated delivery point – Driver unloads, but help is appreciated! Non-OKC areas: – Designated delivery point – Representatives meet at the same time each month to pick up food.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Storage Food should be stored in a secure location. Food must be stored at least 6” off the ground for pest control purposes. – Closet – Cabinet – Table – Pallet “First in, first out.” – Use oldest items first. A Regional Food Bank staff member will need to approve your school pantry site. -on-site visit -photos of your space

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Food Safety Damaged food should be disposed of immediately. – Throw away any food that was contaminated by the damaged items. If you find pests in the boxes, contact the Regional Food Bank immediately.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Distribution Client Choice Pre-packed Sacks

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ More Food Options Extra Helpings

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Poster

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Volunteers / Community Support -Organize food on the shelves after delivery -Distribute food* -Donate -Food Drives -Advocate / Educate * Students are not allowed to distribute food. Non-staff volunteers must complete a background check.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Policy Food and other materials from the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma are given to schools at no cost to provide food to chronically hungry children. Food received by the school for the School Pantry program can only be used for the purpose intended by the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma. The food cannot be sold, used for other school programs, used for fundraisers, given to staff, or used for any other purpose other than to provide food to chronically hungry children.

“Fighting Hunger…Feeding Hope” ™ Contacts Traci Simmons, School Pantry Coordinator (405)