Our Programs

Our Food for Kids Backpack Program provides weekly sacks of food to elementary school-aged children who would have little or no food to eat on weekends. We currently are providing food to over 3,700 elementary school children a week in 8 school districts across Tulsa County: Broken Arrow Public Schools, Glenpool Public Schools, Jenks Public Schools, Keystone Public Schools, Owasso Public Schools, Sand Springs Public Schools, Tulsa Public Schools, Union Public Schools.

In addition, the Backpack Program continues to expand through our partner programs to communities across the 23 counties of Eastern Oklahoma. These partner programs provide sacks of food at their local schools for children in their communities. Partner Backpack Programs are currently being sponsored by:

Food 4 Kids Backpack Program Agape Mission in Bartlesville, Ash Street Baptist Church in Muskogee, Bethany Presbyterian Church in Muskogee, Boulevard Christian Church in Muskogee, Boys and Girls Club of Green Country in Pryor, Bristow Presbyterian Church in Bristow, Broken Arrow Neighbors in Broken Arrow, Care Food Pantry in Tahlequah, Caring Community Friends in Sapulpa, Central Church of Christ in Haskell, Chandler Road Church of Christ in Muskogee, Christ's Food Center in Big Cedar, Courtyard Church in Skiatook , Dividing Bread Ministry in Hominy, Eastern Heights Baptist Church in Muskogee, Eufaula PTA, First Assembly of God in Wright City, First Baptist Church in Antlers, First Baptist Church in Muskogee, First Baptist Church in Okmulgee, First Presbyterian Church in Broken Bow, First United Methodist Church in Fairland, First United Church in Grove, First United Methodist Church in Muskogee, First United Church in Sapulpa, Henryetta Church of Christ in Henryetta, Ketchum United Methodist Church in Ketchum, Lakeside Baptist Church in Mannford, Leonard United Methodist Church in Leonard, Locust Grove Ministerial Alliance in Locust Grove, Pawhuska Ministerial Alliance in Pawhuska, Oologah United Methodist Church in Oologah, Quinton United Methodist Church in Quinton, Seventh Day Adventist Church in Muskogee, Shared Blessings in McAlester, St. Paul United Methodist Church in Muskogee, Valliant Food Bank in Valliant. For more information, contact Cathy Elliott at (918) 585-2800, ext 115 or celliott@cfbeo.org.

Kids Cafe is a program of the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and Feeding America. This program provides free meals and snacks to low-income children through a variety of community locations where children typically congregate. In addition to meals, these programs must provide extensive educational, physical and social activities for the children. For more information, contact Cathy Elliott at (918) 585-2800, ext 115 or celliott@cfbeo.org.

Value-Added Processing Program helps extend the shelf life of perishable food by processing it in the Food Bank's Culinary Center into a form that can be frozen. A recent example of Value-Added Processing is a truckload of donated tomatoes that was turned into pasta sauce, then frozen and later distributed to the Food Bank's Partner Programs. For more information, contact Jonathan Haring at (918) 585-2800, ext. 129 or jharing@cfbeo.org.
Prepared and Perishable Food Program distributes highly-valued food to the hungry, such as fresh meat, dairy products, produce and already-prepared meals that would otherwise be discarded. The food comes from retail grocers, restaurants, cafeterias, growers, farmers and backyard gardeners. For more information, contact Ken Bacon at (918) 585-2800, ext. 122 or kbacon@cfbeo.org.
Purchased and Staple Food Program provides food to our Partner Programs that is not typically donated by food donors or through food drives, such as peanut butter, protein and cereal. During last fiscal year, we purchased more than one million pounds of food in large quantities at a price well below retail.
Fresh Produce Program allows us to distribute healthy, nutritious fruits and vegetables to our Partner Programs. Last fiscal year we distributed more than a million pounds of produce, including produce received through our Plant a Row for the Hungry Program, a nationwide program started by the Garden Writers Association of America in 1995. It encourages farmers and backyard gardeners alike to plant a little extra every year and donate the abundance to the hungry. For more information, contact Ken Bacon at (918) 585-2800, ext. 122 or kbacon@cfbeo.org.
USDA Commodities Program distributes commodities to our Partner Programs through a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. During the last fiscal year, we distributed almost four million pounds of commodities to the hungry in Eastern Oklahoma.
Disaster Relief Program helps us respond quickly during a disaster. During the December 2007 ice storm, we purchased and distributed more than 2,000 pre-assembled boxes of food, enough to feed a family of four for five to seven days, and distributed another 400,000 pounds of food to emergency shelters and to our Partner Programs to help those most affected by the storm.