Dollar General food donations aid in combating hunger in Oklahoma

National store chain Dollar General has donated over 700,000 pounds of food to Oklahoma communities this year. Through a partnership with Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, the company invested in two food banks in the state.

Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma received Dollar General’s donation throughout the first seven months of the year to address food insecurities in the state’s affected regions. The company announced the sum of donations in a news release in light of Hunger Action Month, which will raise awareness of the issue through September. Dollar General did not disclose how much the donations cost.

“Through these donations, we are proud to help combat hunger and increase access to nutritious foods for residents in need,” said Denine Torr, Dollar General’s vice president of corporate social responsibility and philanthropy.

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"Throughout my more than 30 years serving Dollar General communities, partnering with our Feeding America local food banks has been some of my most fulfilling work," said Ronda Brookshire, Dollar General district manager of operations in Tulsa in the news release. "Whether we are donating to food banks in Oklahoma towns of 100 or 40,000 residents, the impact on these donations is inspiring.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, more than 500,000 Oklahomans need access to food with 200,000 of those being children. The Oklahoma Legislature allocated $12.5 million of the state's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to expand access to food through Food Insecurity Grants. The one-time grants reached 158 counties and have totaled nearly $20.7 million in funding, according to data updated in July by Oklahoma Human Services .

The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Inc. has received around $1.22 million in grants since 2021 when ARPA went into effect.

Feeding America found more people in the state were affected by food insecurity than Oklahoma Human Services has reported. According to Feeding America's website, nearly 700,000 people face hunger in Oklahoma, although both the nonprofit and state estimated the same amount of children were included in the totals. The nonprofit estimated around $500 million would be needed to meet food needs in the state with the average meal costing $3.77.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Dollar General food donations aid in combating hunger in Oklahoma