Randy Krehbiel

Tulsa World Reporter

Mike Simons

Tulsa World Photojournalist

Visits to the nearly 700 pantries in the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma’s distribution network rose 17% in the budget year that ended June 30.

Four days later, on July 4, President Donald Trump signed legislation promising to cut $164 billion over 10 years from the nation’s largest food support program, known as SNAP.

Oklahoma’s exact share of those reductions from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program won’t be known precisely for some time, but advocates say it could easily be $300 million a year. That would be about 20% of current spending.

“Either Oklahoma is going to have to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to bridge that gap,’ or we’re not,” said Jeff Marlow, president of the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.

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