HUNGER FREE OKLAHOMA
Potential for Program Growth
W
e have taken a look at each of the primary federal nutrition assistance programs by examining how the programs are administered in Oklahoma and what participation trends look like. It’s clear that each of these programs warrant needed growth – both through increasing the accessibility of and participation in them. This section provides a picture of what potential growth could look like, including the potential number of people that would be reached and the potential reimbursements the state would accrue. These goals are ambitious and our aim is to set high standards for participation in the priority federal nutrition programs: School Breakfast, Summer Meals, Afterschool Meals, SNAP, and WIC.
Understanding what the existing landscape of food assistance looks like is helpful before estimating growth. The pie chart on the next page visualizes the distribution of public and private food assistance in Oklahoma. SNAP is the largest program, bringing in the most reimbursement dollars to the state (66%).1 Child nutrition programs, which include School Breakfast, Summer Food Service Program, Afterschool Meals, National School Lunch Program,2 and WIC,3 comprised about 22 percent of total food assistance in the state in FY 2015. While systematically quantifying private assistance is impossible, the private funding through the food banks makes up approximately seven percent of total food assistance.4 The food distribution programs5 and the Older Americans Act (which provides home and community-based services for seniors, including nutrition programs and Meals-on-Wheels) together comprise about five percent of the total food assistance.6