A Visit To The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
Last week, I shared my support of The Great American Milk Drive, the first-ever national program that helps deliver gallons of milk to in-need families. Today I am back to share my recent visit to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, a partner of Feeding America, and a location that benefits from donations to The Great American Milk Drive.
As I mentioned in my post a few days ago, The Great American Milk Drive is the first-ever national program that helps deliver gallons of milk to hungry, in-need families. A partner with Feeding America – the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization – this milk drive turns donations into gallons of milk for deserving families.
The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma provides food for more than 116,000 locals every week and 37% of that number are children. That is a staggering statistic.
Food is distributed through a number of programs, including food pantries, church pantries, soup kitchens, schools, and homeless shelters.
I took a walk through the facility to see firsthand how the food is stored, witness where the volunteers work, and learn how the food bank operates on such a large level.
My first impression of the food bank was that it was a beautiful and LARGE building that houses more food than you can imagine!
Interestingly enough, though, this food moves very, very quickly and without the donations coming in on a regular basis, these shelves would be empty in a short amount of time.
Giant refrigerators and freezers store all perishable food products, like fresh milk, vegetables, and fruits so that the quality is high when delivered to needy homes.
Food is often donated in bulk from major brands in large containers, like this GIGANTIC bag of cereal. Look how tall it is compared to my 5’ 5” self! Guess what would go great with this cereal? Fresh milk! I’m so glad that it is possible to donate fresh milk to this food bank.
Since the food bank does receive so many donations (and thank goodness it does), there are many boxes that are leftover from deliveries. To eliminate waste, they have decided to recycle them! So smart.
Something that I didn’t expect when visiting was the mini farm on the property! This area is used to teach children how to grow fresh produce and healthy eating habits. What a clever and cost-effective way to set up children for long-term success.
Anyone can volunteer at The Regional Food Bank Of Oklahoma and about 1/3 of all donations will be handled by one. Volunteers sort, organize, and pack up donations for various programs. These amazing people help keep the food bank’s cost down so that it can continue to serve the hungry community.
MAKE A DONATION OF MILK – #MilkDrive
Founder of Mom Spark – a lifestyle blog for moms.