Oklahoma’s food donation law has little effect • Oklahoma Voice

OKLAHOMA CITY – A Clinton woman was heartbroken when she saw her students throwing away leftover food from the cafeteria every day.

Sally James, 70, who used to work in a public school cafeteria, said it was hard to stomach the amount of food she saw thrown out every day. It was especially difficult for her as a senior citizen who had to choose between buying groceries and medicine, she said.

Now James works as a chef for Mission House, a Clinton-based nonprofit whose services include food delivery.

James said her goal is to feed the hungry in her community.

“It used to just hurt me that all that food, all that milk, all that juice that day could have gone to a family or a child who might not have had anything to eat that weekend,” James said.

HB 1542 came into effect in November.

Republican Representative Anthony Moore of Clinton authored the bill. The law allows restaurants and cafeterias in public school districts to donate food without fear of liability, except in cases of negligence.

For Mission House, James said the law has allowed the company to meet demand that is nearly double. In May, Mission House served 1,328 dinners, she said.

“And now we can put together food packages, bring them out, use them and distribute them to families and people who have been taken off the streets,” she said.

Both Clinton Public Schools and neighboring Arapaho-Butler Public Schools donate leftover cafeteria food, James said.

Tyler Bridges, superintendent of Clinton Public Schools, said the school district began donating in November.

“Generally speaking, we always have things that we’ve overproduced or overbought or whatever that are going to spoil, and these are just things that we basically had to throw away in the past, but now we don’t,” Bridges said. “So obviously this is fantastic.”

Bridges, a close personal friend of Moore, said it made sense that Clinton Public Schools was among the first school districts to begin donating food.

Bridges said the school district primarily donates milk, fruits and vegetables. Prepared meals are not a typical donation, he said.

In February, The Arby’s Foundation donated about $21,000 to pay off students’ lunch debts in Clinton.

Despite the proven need of the district’s students, Bridges said they will be given priority and only unused or perishable food will be donated.

With the new school year in the fall, Bridges said Clinton Public Schools will become a Community Eligibility District, meaning all students will receive free breakfast and lunch regardless of their financial situation. He said the district currently offers 85% free and reduced lunches.

Jay Edelen, superintendent of Arapaho-Butler Public Schools, said his district and Clinton Public Schools use the same food service provider, Opaa! Food Management, Inc., which helped them create a food donation plan.

During the week, Edelen said, prepared leftover meals are donated. After lunch on Friday, fresh fruit and salad are collected and brought to the Mission House before they spoil over the weekend, he said.

Despite local involvement, food donations are not widespread, say spokespeople for Tulsa and Oklahoma City organizations.

Many larger food banks and soup kitchens do not have partnerships with restaurants to donate prepared meals, the spokespeople said.

Cathy Nestlen, a spokeswoman for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, said the system is not practical for food banks.

The Regional Food Bank has not received donations from restaurants or school cafeterias, she said. Instead, some of its local partners receive donations from restaurant chains like Starbucks and Panera. And even then, she said, packaged foods are often the type of donations they can accept.

Oklahoma City-based Grace Rescue Mission, an emergency shelter for men, and Jesus House, a nonprofit that provides addiction assistance, food and clothing, rarely if ever receive donations from restaurants, a spokesman said.

The Tulsa Day Center, a nonprofit that provides basic needs, does not receive restaurant donations. Iron Gate, a nonprofit that feeds the hungry in Tulsa, does not typically receive food prepared by restaurants, said executive director Carrie Henderson.

“We haven’t gotten any in a long time,” Henderson said. “We got quite a bit during COVID because a restaurant ordered something and then, you know, closed for some reason or something like that.”

She said Iron Gate was particularly receiving large amounts of surplus food during the pandemic.

In drafting the law, Moore said he hoped it would address the state’s high levels of food insecurity.

“It’s so simple, so obvious, and I honestly couldn’t believe it hadn’t been done before. When I realized it was still a problem and a barrier to others helping, I just wanted to remove those barriers,” Moore said.

Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization, reports One in six Oklahomans suffers from hunger. One in four children in the state also suffers from hunger.

Although the initiative has not yet been implemented on a larger scale, James said the additional donations to Mission House make a big difference.

“Groceries are really expensive right now,” James said. “It’s hard for us to buy salads so they can, you know, get nutritious meals with fresh vegetables and everything they (the school districts) bring us and so on.”