Advocates attend Anti-Hunger Day at Oklahoma State Capitol
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - B.K. Bruner said when he was a freshman at OU his mother had a stroke, leaving the 18-year-old to take care of his two younger siblings while she recovered.
"During that process, I was really struggling to try to help them find food and I couldn't really get a job because my sister was only two at the time, so we didn't have money for daycare,” said Bruner. “I had to rely on family, friends and my neighbors and they told me about the food bank… We didn't have a vehicle. So, I had to walk two miles with my sister to get the food and two miles back. With a two year old, it was extremely difficult."
Struggles like his are unfortunately common across the state. Oklahoma is currently the sixth hungriest state in the nation.
According to Chris Benard, the CEO of Hunger Free Oklahoma, more than one in five children and one in seven households in Oklahoma are food insecure. He and Bruner were two of dozens of advocates at the capitol on Monday, pushing for policies that will help end hunger.
“To let legislators know that this is an issue that's impacting thousands of Oklahomans and that we want to see action on this,” said Benard. “We've got tons of our neighbors all over this state who are struggling with this issue day to day or weekly or monthly.”
The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and the Regional Food Bank were also part of the event. Bruner now works for the Regional Food Bank.
While many hunger-related bills have already died this session, one measure they’d like to see pass is Senate Bill 1324. It would create an optional statewide electronic application for free and reduced-price school meals.
"If we can take politics out of feeding kids, I'm confident we can get it done,” said Benard.
The measure passed through the senate and a house committee. It can now be heard on the house floor.
"We need to start standing firm on our Christian faith and say, let's help our neighbors meet their basic needs,” said Bruner.