Madison Contreras and Caleb Kimbro

Writers

Marlow High School Student Council volunteered at the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City with District 3 through the Oklahoma Association of Student Councils (OASC) on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Explaining why the district board planned this outreach, District Advisor Ann Field stated her appreciation for the Regional Food Bank’s donations.

“At the last District Executive Board Meeting in March, the district officers and I made plans for our district to come together for a service project,” said Field. “ The Marlow Samaritans receive a weekly shipment from this food bank, so it is a cause dear to our hearts because we partner every month with the Marlow Samaritans food bank and have selected them as our philanthropy week recipient.”

Having first opened in 1980, the Regional Food Bank has grown to serve 53 counties in the state of Oklahoma.

Within those counties, 616,055 citizens have received benefits from the food bank and more than 50 million pounds of food have been distributed to their community-based partner agencies within the last year.

Describing how much more food can be provided, the Regional Food Bank’s Marketing Manager Austin Prickett noted the importance of volunteering.

“Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Regional Food Bank,” said Prickett. “In the last year, more than 41,850 volunteers donated 1,425,000 hours of service within our organization. That helps us save more than $3.4 million in labor costs that we can use to provide more food to those living with food insecurity.”

Bringing attention to the need for volunteers, Prickett also stated that Oklahoma is the sixth hungriest state in the nation, meaning one in six people have food insecurities along with one in four children.

Realizing what impact she will be leaving on our state, MHS Student Council Media Coordinator Elena Holguin established why she felt it was important for D3 StuCo to attend the Regional Food Bank.

“The importance of attending the food bank is all of the different schools in our district connecting to try to make our small impact and help leave a print on Oklahoma,” Holguin said. “The Regional Food Bank doesn’t just stay in Oklahoma City, it branches out to many different towns across the state. It is really important to attend because we are there to help make a difference.”

As thirty-two volunteers from D3 StuCo served at the Regional Food Bank, they packaged over 5,000 pounds of food which, in result, will feed 4,000 Oklahomans in need.