County Farm Bureau offices across Oklahoma are once again serving as food donation drop off locations for Gov. Fallin’s fourth annual Feeding Oklahoma Food Drive, Oct. 1-31.
The farm group is also encouraging its members and the public to help pick sweet potatoes Oct. 25, at a farm near Albert, Okla., in Caddo County. OKFB hopes to harvest as much as 10,000 pounds of sweet potatoes to donate to the food drive.
“The farming and ranching families of Oklahoma Farm Bureau are proud to support Gov. Fallin’s Feeding Oklahoma Food Drive,” said OKFB President Roland Pederson. “We strongly believe no one should go to bed hungry in a state that is blessed with abundant food production, and this is one of the ways we can reinforce the connection between those who grow the food and those who need it the most.”
During an Oct. 1 press conference announcing the food drive, Gov. Fallin said the campaign’s goal is to provide enough food for 1.4 million meals. The food drive is conducted in partnership with the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma and the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, which serve community soup kitchens, food banks and shelters in all 77 counties.
OKFB will continue its ongoing efforts to help feed Oklahomans through the Farmers Fighting Hunger campaign. Each year, members bring non-perishable food items to the annual Farm Bureau convention in November. Farm Bureau is also a partner in the Beef for Backpacks program where nutritional beef sticks are added to hungry children’s backpacks for use on weekends and holidays.
For more information about participating in the sweet potato pick on Oct. 25, please call OKFB’s Jennie Bruning at (405) 530-2696.
You can listen to our All Around Oklahoma Agriculture edition below with more information on OKFB’s participation in the food drive.
