For the second year in a row, Oklahoma will not participate in a federal summer food program. Gov. Kevin Stitt has proclaimed that Oklahoma doesn’t have a childhood hunger issue. At least that should be the takeaway after he again declined to participate in the federal summer food program meant to feed kids who rely on school-provided meals.
Most states are participating in the program that issues $120 to every child who already qualifies for free and reduced lunch during the school year.
Oklahoma is “fully capable of serving children and students without a federal program that has floundered in other states,” said Stitt, seemingly unaware that our state has the second-highest rate of childhood food insecurity in the nation.
This article appears in Summer Guide 2025.