Policy & Advocacy

“Collectively, this support will allow us to make Double Up Oklahoma the largest nutrition incentive program in the region. More importantly, this grant allows us to make sure more communities have access to fresh fruits and vegetables and more Oklahomans have the resources they need to make healthy choices,” – Chris Bernard

The Oklahoma legislature will have 15 new members of the House of Representatives and eight new members of the Senate. This means that 22% of the legislature will be new members come next session. Hunger Free Oklahoma will focus on educating new and returning legislators alike on the landscape of food security issues and policies. 

The TV ads have stopped. The billboards are coming down. The unsolicited text messages and calls have slowed (or switched topics, at least). The 2022 election season has, largely, come to an end. Aside from this brief reprieve from electioneering, what happens now? Let’s break down what the aftermath of an election looks like and what it means for advocates at every level.

The federal public health emergency has been extended through January 11, 2023. At this time, we do not anticipate the emergency declaration will be extended past January 2023, though no official action has been announced or taken yet. The end of the federal public health emergency will mean several changes to federal nutrition programs. We are tracking this very closely and will keep our partners updated with the latest information. 

“Collectively, this support will allow us to make Double Up Oklahoma the largest nutrition incentive program in the region. More importantly, this grant allows us to make sure more communities have access to fresh fruits and vegetables and more Oklahomans have the resources they need to make healthy choices,” – Chris Bernard

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health  We are extremely proud and honored to share that our Executive Director, Chris Bernard, received an invite to attend the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in person on behalf of Hunger Free Oklahoma. This […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy Child Nutrition Program Reauthorization The House Committee on Education and Labor passed H.R. 1850 out of committee on July 27, 2022. The reauthorization package is now eligible to be heard on the House floor, but an exact timeline is not clear at this point. The […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy Child Nutrition Program Reauthorization The House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Rep. Bobby Scott introduced legislation last week to modernize childhood anti-hunger programs through H.R. 8450, the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act. Though H.R. 8450 still needs to move through the legislative process, this represents […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy Child Nutrition Program Waivers Congress took an important step last week to combat childhood hunger with the announcement of a long-awaited agreement to extend child nutrition waivers. The bipartisan Keep Kids Fed Act by Senate Committee on Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman […]

“Congress took an important step yesterday to combat childhood hunger with the announcement of an agreement to protect access to school and summer meals through the introduction of the bipartisan Keep the Kids Fed Act by Senate Committee on Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR), along with House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA 03) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R NC-5).

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy 2022 Legislative Session Regular Session: The regular legislative session adjourns this week. The legislature completed their work on the budget last week and sent the budget bills, along with many additional bills, to the governor’s desk. Below is a brief update on a couple of […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy 2022 Legislative Session The state legislative session will adjourn in the next month. There are approximately 1,000 bills (down from about 5,000) still moving through the process following the recent legislative deadlines. An average of about 19% of bills filed ultimately make it to the […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy 2022 Legislative Session The state legislative session is almost at the halfway point, with the second major deadline this week. There are approximately 1,400 bills (down from about 5,000) still moving through the process following the first committee hearing deadline. About 19% of bills filed […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Director of Government Relations and Public Policy 2022 Legislative Session Legislative session is now underway, with both chambers primarily focused on committee work through March 3. Legislators requested a total of 3,019 bills ahead of this legislative session. New bill requests, combined with carryover bills from the 2021 legislative session, means there […]

The Lift Oklahoma Communities, Agriculture, and Lifestyles (LOCAL) Coalition is seeking ways to expand the DUO program across the state through a stronger public/private partnership.

Chris Bernard, Hunger Free Oklahoma’s executive director, was invited to testify at a congressional roundtable, along with four other experts from across the nation, as part of an effort to examine the issue of hunger in rural America.

As the country continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Hunger Free Oklahoma (HFO) is one of 52 organizations selected to receive funding through a critical $2.5 million investment from MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. The national anti-hunger organization’s partnership grants will help stem the tide in persistent food insecurity that was exacerbated by pandemic-related shutdowns.

The USDA announced that Hunger Free Oklahoma was 1 of 35 recipients nationally to be awarded a Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program COVID-19 Relief and Response (GusCRR) grant of $650,000 to continuing the DUO program at farmers markets and grocery stores and allowing expansion to high-need areas across the state for the next year.

Hunger Free Oklahoma applauds the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), USDA Secretary Vilsack, and President Biden for implementing the directives of the 2018 Farm Bill by re-evaluating the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) based on current data and economics. The update to the TFP leads to a more than 25 percent increase in benefit amounts for Oklahoma SNAP participants, a long overdue increase needed to more accurately reflect the costs incurred by low income families trying to meet their nutritional needs.

by Allycia Brimson, Raul Lopez, and Treba Shyers of the HFO SNAP Application Hotline Leadership Reflecting: Everyone everywhere is reflecting on the past year—the pandemic, the struggles, the loss, and the lessons learned. About a year ago we all felt the shock and reality of the COVID-19 crisis. We had questions… • How do we […]

by Richard Comeau, Program Director, Hunger Free Oklahoma Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) is making a difference. In the city of Okemah (Okfuskee County), which has only one full-service grocery store and some of Oklahoma’s worst health indicators, Double Up Oklahoma (DUO) is fulfilling a need. So much so that according to Homeland staff, people are […]

by Jessica Dietrich, Policy and Government Relations Manager, Hunger Free Oklahoma The American Rescue Plan Act, passed by Congress March 10th, will help the thousands of Oklahomans struggling to put food on the table. According to the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, Oklahoma’s food scarcity rate, the more extreme end of food insecurity, has been […]

Hundreds of thousands of children in Oklahoma rely on school meals on a regular basis. So, when schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that dependable source of school meals disappeared almost overnight and it emphasized the need for many children across the state. Enter your local school nutrition team.

A new year does not magically end the challenges of the last, but it does give us an opportunity to look forward and set new priorities for the year ahead. We are grateful to be able to look ahead, regardless of the current challenges or new challenges that may arise, and think about what more we can do to move toward a Hunger Free Oklahoma.