1. food and drink

food for
Issue 1 • 2015
Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope
Community FOOD BANK of Eastern Oklahoma
Board of Directors
President
Colleen Almeida Smith
Tulsa World
Vice President
Steve Lehto
Treasurer
Eric Kunkel
Curzon, Cumbey & Kunkel, PLLC
Secretary
Willie Mary Walters
Caring Community Friends
Immediate Past President
Scott Lewis
Optimus Industries, LLC
Members
Ted Beaumont
Cimarex Energy Co.
Steve Broussard
Hall Estill Attorneys at Law
Mark Cavins
Coldwell Banker Select
Monica Gibbs
Agape Bible Fellowship Church
Jason Glass
Savage Baum & Glass, PLLC
Cynthia Hubbard
Williams Companies, Inc.
Tom Hutchison
GableGotwals
Teresa Johnson
Walmart
Kurt Kazmierski
Arvest Bank
Kathy LaFortune
Tulsa County Juvenile Bureau
Bruce Magoon
Magoon & Associates
Mike McAndrews
Adams Hall Wealth Advisors
Anthony Phillips
Bank of Oklahoma
Dear Friend:
I hope this finds you well and 2015 is off to a good start for you and yours.
I am also hopeful this year will be a better one for so many of the families we
serve together. In this work, I have the opportunity to meet so many different
people. Many of them need help feeding themselves or their families. While
their stories often have similarities, they are all ultimately unique.
In this newsletter, you will have the opportunity to hear directly from
someone who has recently benefitted from food assistance. Shawna is willing
to share freely about the reasons behind the need and reflect on the complex
nature of food insecurity.
Her story took me completely by surprise. I was attending Jazz to the World,
a wonderful concert benefitting the Food Bank organized by First Christian
Church. The music is always exceptional and varied and I was expecting
another stellar performance when a lovely young woman in a red dress took
the stage. They read each artist’s biography and I remember just snippets of
hers. I was impressed by her experience in the technology realm and that she
was a classically trained musician. When she spoke however, she commented
that the biography referenced experiences that seemed to her to be a “lifetime
ago”. She relayed to a quiet crowd she and her two young sons had been
seeking and receiving food assistance from Food Bank partners over the last
several months. She felt this was a way for her to give back—she was there to
essentially sing for her supper.
I was stunned at the courage she exhibited and blown away by her talent.
Meeting her underscored what I know, but what I constantly need to keep top
of mind. The hungry are in our midst and we don’t have any way to identify
them by how they look, speak or present themselves.
It made me happy to hear Shawna and her sons had found the assistance
they needed during this difficult time. I am proud to be a small part of that
help and I hope you are, too. Together, we distribute more than 335,000 meals
each week. We will never know the stories behind most of them, but I know
they are making a difference in the lives of the recipients.
On behalf of the hungry,
Tony Rivera
Hyatt Regency Tulsa Hotel
John Silva
Morton Comprehensive
Health Services
Jason Smith
Flight Concepts, LLC
Eileen Ryan Bradshaw
Executive Director
Steve Swetoha
Tulsa Shock
Ex-officio Members
Margaret Butler
Bill Copeland
Rich Ficken
Keith Kelly
Judi McCoy
2 Food for Thought
Vision
Food security, with dignity, for all eastern Oklahomans.
Mission
Feed the hungry of eastern Oklahoma through a network of Partner
Programs and engage the communities in ending hunger.
Together, we...
Thanks to your support, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma
is able to fight hunger and feed hope throughout our communities.
Raced to end hunger
Nearly 700 runners walked and ran the streets of
downtown Tulsa during the Second Annual Turkey Day
5K & Fun Run benefiting the Food Bank on Thanksgiving
morning. Thanks to your participation and support, you
helped provide more than 134,500 meals to the hungry in
our community.
Start a new family tradition by joining us for the Third
Annual Turkey Day 5K & Fun Run on Thursday, November
26, 2015. Online race registration will be available in July
2015 on our website at okfoodbank.org.
Celebrated the first Culinary
Trade Program graduates
In January, we celebrated the first graduates of
our Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation Culinary Trade
Program. The program offers a fresh start to low-income
individuals, providing them with 16 weeks of culinary
training in the Community Food Bank of Eastern
Oklahoma’s Culinary Center.
Through the program, students assist with all facets of
the Food Bank’s culinary services, including converting
fresh produce and other perishable foods into healthy
frozen meals, preparing meals to be distributed from the
Mobile Eatery and assisting with catering events.
Provided nutritious meals to children over winter break
The Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma’s Mobile Eatery served nutritious meals to children over winter
break. The Mobile Eatery visited three sites in Tulsa each day, serving more than 600 meals to students throughout
the week. During extended school holidays, children don’t have access to the school’s free and reduced meal program,
which can be an added strain to an already stretched food budget for families.
Grant funding provides critical support
We’re so grateful for the foundations, corporations and programs who choose to support our mission by providing
grant funding. Below you will find a list of the grants we’ve received totaling $10,000 and more so far this fiscal year.
These grants provide critical support to our many programs.
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Hille Charitable Foundation
Flint Family Foundation Pediatric Healthcare Fund
George Kaiser Family Foundation
Spirit AeroSystems Good Neighbor Fund
General Operations
Purchased Product
General Operations, Mobile Eatery, Food for Kids,
Purchased Product and Senior Servings
H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Foundation
Southern Branch Capital Campaign
*Grants listed are $10,000 and above, received between August 1, 2014 - December 31, 2014
Senior Servings
Food for Kids
Food for Kids
Walmart Foundation Agency Capacity
Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma 3
98¾
percent
guaranteed
Shawna is a mother of two and below is her journey to land back on her feet. Through your support of the Community Food
Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and our network of Partner Programs, you helped ensure her family had food on the table.
There is a tattoo on my wrist: a number in script small
enough for my watch to cover it. Sometimes only I know
it’s there. 98 ¾. Many attribute it to the fact I love math.
I graduated with honors from high school with an
emphasis on science and math. Geometry, calculus,
anatomy and physics: these were my poetry.
Onward and upward, I glided through my degree in
Computer Science from Oklahoma State University where
I fell in love with the logical process that accompanies
computers and numbers. I won awards, earned
scholarships and was highly recruited upon graduation.
I was able to choose my college and choose my career.
From there, choices were mine. I was able to choose to
stay home when I had my babies. My husband was a
successful and bright programmer. For a long time, he
provided well for our young family. We chose a private
school for our sons. We chose a country club to join for
relaxation. We chose a nice, beautiful home in South
Tulsa. Choices were easy because even the tough one’s
bad side still led to health and happiness.
4 Food for Thought
I didn’t choose poverty.
My picture perfect life ended the moment I found
myself trapped in a two-year long divorce case. A life of
luxury was replaced with choices I never anticipated.
Do I pay the electric or the gas? How cold is it really
going to get? Do I pay the phone bill or do I save and give
my son a small birthday party?
While raising my sons was precious, I had paused
my own career and found myself single, unemployed
and facing foreclosure and bankruptcy from someone
else’s choice. When standing on the edge of uncertainty,
choices suddenly feel like sacks of boulders on your back.
Even if one gets lifted, there are still many in the sack
threatening to topple you. But one thing rang in my head
with every choice I had to make:
“So be sure when you step, step with care and
great tact. And remember that life’s a great
balancing act. And will you succeed? Yes!
You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed).”
It’s from the Dr. Seuss book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
and serves as my reminder that success is mine, but I have
to step carefully and make good choices. So with
boulders on my back, I began stepping. I wasn’t always
sure-footed, but a glance at my wrist or my children or
even a glimpse of my past pushed me forward.
My kids and I now have a safe place to live with power
and heat and wonderful food on our table, thanks to
many of you. During the phase of uncertainty, knowing there were places in town to receive food assistance
meant one less worry. Sitting down for a meal together
allowed my family to maintain a much-needed sense of
normalcy.
I worked my way through the steps to become a
certified teacher, often working two or even three jobs,
and now teach 6th grade in Tulsa Public Schools. My
sons are happy and healthy and I am climbing out of that
chasm of poverty I never dreamed I’d see.
The most important thing I want others to know is I
didn’t do it alone and it doesn’t happen overnight. And
while poverty struck quickly, finding my way out has
taken time, and it will take others time as well. Poverty
can strike in a minute, but the hours, days, months and
years that we fight our way back seem endless and
daunting. Shame sets in; embarrassment surrounds you.
Poverty changes how you see others and how you
view yourself. You never forget where you came from but
you never want to be there again, and sometimes it’s the
simple act of a stranger that can lift the shadows. The
volunteer that hears it’s your 4 year old’s birthday week
and finds a cake mix and icing or the warm hug that says
“we’re here for you” can give someone like me the hope I
needed to keep trying. They reminded me that if not for
me, I keep stepping forward for my children.
The kindness of friends, family, and strangers were
often the rungs of the ladder that allowed me to climb
and saved my life.
What would
you choose?
During the 2014 Hunger Study completed by
Feeding America, clients receiving food from
our Partner Programs reported having to make
tradeoffs between food and other necessities for
themselves or their families.
76%
must choose between
FOOD OR UTILITIES
75%
must choose between
FOOD OR TRANSPORTATION
Oh, the places I’ll go now.
Rx
69%
must choose between
Cover and story photos courtesy of Jenn Horner with
Argyle & Monroe Photography.
FOOD OR MEDICATION
Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma 5
“There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”
- John Holmes
In the spirit of the season, area businesses are proving
they have a heart for the hungry by supporting the
Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.
In an effort lead by CCK Strategies, the goal is to
provide more than 200,000 meals to those struggling
with hunger in our community. To help reach the meal
goal, businesses are encouraged to host a food and fund
drive or schedule a day for employees to volunteer.
“One of the things we like about the Food Bank is I can’t
think of anything that’s more basic or more deserving,”
said Eric Kunkel, partner at CCK Strategies. “It has no
agenda other than helping feed people. We always want
to make a difference in everything we do and part of that
involves how we give back to the community.”
To learn more about how your company can get
involved in Heart for the Hungry, contact Heidi Ewing
at [email protected] or 918-936-4544.
What can your company do to help?
Host a Food and Fund Drive
Volunteer
The Food Bank relies on food and fund donations
throughout the year to stock their warehouse. By
hosting a food or fund drive, you will help provide
much needed meals to those struggling with hunger.
Consider making an even bigger impact by matching
donations from your employees to the Food Bank.
Volunteering at the Food Bank can be a great team
building activity. The Food Bank has a wide variety
of opportunities for groups of all sizes to volunteer
during the day, after work and on weekends. Make
an event out of it and work with the Food Bank to
cater lunch for your employees during your visit.
$1 = 4 meals
1.2 pounds = 1 meal
1 hour = 80 meals
Take a Tour
Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and see
how food is processed and distributed to a network of 450 Partner Programs throughout
eastern Oklahoma. You’ll learn more about the issue of hunger in Oklahoma, who the
Food Bank is and how they help fight hunger in our community.
6 Food for Thought
Empty B wls
19th Annual
April 28, 2015
For the past 18 years, Empty Bowls has raised funds and awareness
for the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma. This year’s event
will be held Tuesday, April 28 at the Cox Business Center.
The event features a live and silent auction, wine and restaurant
pull, live entertainment, raffle and more. Guests enjoy a soup and
salad dinner and receive a keepsake bowl, which serves as a reminder
of the too many empty bowls of hungry Oklahomans. In 2014, Empty
Bowls raised more than $375,000 to fight hunger and feed hope in
eastern Oklahoma.
Sponsorships are currently available and tickets will go on sale
online on March 1. For more information, contact Heidi Ewing at
918-936-4544 or [email protected].
Help Stamp Out Hunger in our community
Join our community in the fight against hunger by supporting
the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, benefitting the Community Food
Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and our network of Partner Programs. The
community-wide food drive will begin on April 10 and culminate with
area letter carriers collecting food donations from businesses and
residents throughout our service area on Saturday, May 9.
Stamp Out Hunger is the Food Bank’s largest food drive of the year
and helps stock the warehouse for the summer months, when need is
often increased as children are out of school and energy bills rise.
In addition to local food drives and Letter Carriers collecting on
their routes, donations can be dropped off at Reasor’s locations from
April 22 through May 11. For more information, contact Katie Lepine
at 918-936-4511 or [email protected].
Make the Food Bank part of your legacy
Each year, the generous support of people like you allows us to
provide food and hope to so many in our community. This generosity
is not only evident in the financial gifts, but also the gifts of time and
energy. It’s true, your giving makes a difference.
Are you interested in learning more about opportunities to include
the Food Bank in your legacy and help fight hunger in eastern
Oklahoma for years to come? Have you already included the Food
Bank in your will or trust?
We want to hear from you! Contact Maggie Hoey at 918-936-4551
or [email protected] to learn more about the Food Bank’s new
Seeds of Hope Legacy Society.
Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma 7
Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma
1304 North Kenosha Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74106
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Tulsa OK
Permit No.
2370
Faces around the Food Bank
1304 North Kenosha Avenue
Tulsa, OK
Fighting Hunger, Feeding Hope
Community FOOD BANK of Eastern Oklahoma
2119 North Main Street
McAlester, OK