Help News 9 Fight Childhood Hunger In Oklahoma

News 9 and the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma are committed to ending childhood hunger in Oklahoma.

Over half of the Food Bank's 77,000 emergency food recipients each week are children. That's more than 38,000 Oklahoma children who are hungry.

Hunger negatively impacts a child's health, behavior, and the ability to concentrate and perform complex tasks. Going without food can cause depression, aggression, anxiety, and poor social skills.

Food is the most essential school supply that there is. This is why News 9 has partnered with the Food Bank to raise donations for the Food for Kids program. Food for Kids currently has four programs to help combat this problem: The Backpack Program, Kid's Cafe, the Summer Feeding Program and School Pantries, but it could do so much more with your help!

It only takes $200 to feed a child for every weekend during the school year. Donate today on news9.com/foodforkids.

Started in 2003, the Food for Kids program provides chronically hungry children with backpacks filled with non-perishable, kid-friendly food to eat on weekends and school holidays. Backpack foods include: peanut butter, fruit cups, cereal, raisins and more.  Food for Kids has grown significantly since 2003, serving 305 elementary schools in 42 counties across central and western Oklahoma, providing backpacks to nearly 12,000 chronically hungry children each week during the 2009-2010 school year.

The program continues to expand, with new schools being added each semester, but we need help from Oklahomans like you to help even more children!To donate or learn more, go to news9.com/foodforkids now. To volunteer, please go to regionalfoodbank.org.