Metro Church Addresses Oklahoma Poverty Level

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Poverty is a real issue for many families and not in just the rural parts of Oklahoma. That's why Feed the Children is helping people in some of Oklahoma City's poorest neighborhoods this week.

The level of poverty is higher than the national average in Oklahoma. And in Oklahoma City the level of poverty is even greater. One in six people live below the poverty line, including more than one in four children.

Families in the flats are in a critical situation. And there are children who go to bed in these homes, without anything to eat. But in the middle of this neighborhood is a church, with a congregation ready to serve the community.

"It will bring peace, it will bring a desire to keep going and saying, 'There's a provision, I can keep going,'" Moises Pichardo, Victory Iglesias Pastor, said.

The encouragement is coming from Feed the Children, a charity that's been delivering goods to those in need for three decades.

In Oklahoma City they're dropping off boxes full of enough food, hygiene products and school supplies to support 400 families in the area.

"There's lots of food in the world," Steve Whetston with Feed the Children said. "There's lots of need in the world. Somebody just needs to get it from point A to point B."

The delivery will ensure food security for one week. School supplies will last the kids for most of the year.

But no matter the materials, the outpouring of care will strengthen the hearts of the people in this neighborhood for much longer.

Victory Iglesias, the church, will distribute the supplies this Saturday starting at 8 a.m.

Besides supplies, leaders will also be providing information about jobs and medical help to people in the community.