[Image: Oklahoma Department of Human Services logo]

[On screen: SNAP in Schools. Hunger Free Oklahoma logo]

[On screen: Linda Cavitt, Deputy Director for Programs, Adult and Family Services DHS]

Linda Cavitt: So as kids are and parents are enrolling their children and they have to fill out the 
form for free school lunches, we find out that only 80% of folks that are eligible for the SNAP 
program or what folks used to call food stamps, are actually receiving them. So in this program, 
we're able to link up those families with being able to be educated about the SNAP program if 
they're eligible for it. 

[On screen: SNAP. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program]

And if they would like to, we can give them the resources and help them apply for the SNAP 
program through Live, which is our online application system and see if they're still eligible to 
receive SNAP benefits and close that gap, help reduce that amount of food insecurity for 
Oklahomans. 

[On screen: OKDHS Live!  Online Benefits Resource. okdhslive.org]

We have roughly 80% of families that are eligible for SNAP that are receiving SNAP, and so 
that's 20% out there that aren't. So we wanna close that gap by 5% in the next couple of years, 
and that is the main goal of SNAP in schools. And so we are hoping that by way of this program, 
that we are able to do so.

[On screen: Chris Bernard.  Executive Director, Hunger Free Oklahoma]

Chris Bernard:	We put out an assessment that said we're leaving 400 million dollars on the table 
in federal nutrition programs that could be used to address the issue. And from that, the 
director of Adult and Family Services reached out to us about the report.

[Image: Ending Hunger in Oklahoma, An assessment of food insecurity and resources in 
Oklahoma.]

Linda Cavitt:	We're working with Hunger Free Oklahoma, a nonprofit, and the Oklahoma 
Department of Education. So we're working with some public school districts right now, 
Oklahoma City public schools, Tulsa public school district and Tahlequah public schools.

Chris Bernard:	Hunger Free Oklahoma, we are an advocacy policy and sort of technical 
assistance organization focused on addressing hunger in the state, primarily through 
maximizing the impact of the federal nutrition programs.
Linda Cavitt:	It was a perfect storm. Let's get together, let's start talking with each other, let's 
figure this out and it's just that we hadn't been conversing, and this is what came of it and this 
is a beautiful, beautiful project.

Chris Bernard:	We train point people in schools, whether that be a councilor, a nurse, a parent 
liaison on how to work within their system to identify parents who may be eligible or families 
who are eligible for SNAP. How to talk to them about it and how to walk them through the 
process of enrolling online.

Linda Cavitt:	That can be a humbling experience for folks, and if we can take it out of having 
somebody walk into a county office and it can happen on a computer system while you're there 
registering for school anyway, why not?

[On screen: EBT: Electronic Benefits Transfer]

Chris Bernard:	No one's getting an EBT card at the school but it certainly ... I think it's lightening 
the load for DHS, so hopefully you get shorter lines at your DHS sites. But it's also creating an 
opportunity for people who may never step in that door to be able to access it.

Linda Cavitt: It can help erase some stigma associated with the program, some of the mess 
associated with the program and help people feel a little bit more comfortable.

Chris Bernard:	So what we know from a huge body of research is that food insecurity negatively 
impacts children's health, their academic performance, behavioral issues and ultimately their 
development. We know with health it impacts ... It can cause diabetes, it can lead to chronic 
sort of heart issues, obesity. With academics, it leads to lower maths and reading scores, less 
likely to graduate, less likely to go onto higher ed.

Linda Cavitt: And a lot of folks don't realize that more than three fourths of our SNAP families 
that receive benefits are working families. These are folks that are working, and some of these 
folks are working two jobs.

Chris Bernard:	Once you get rid of scarcity and what that does to you having to focus on the day 
to day, families can focus more long term and how to bring themselves out of those situations. 

Linda Cavitt: Once this pilot is concluded, we would love to see this go state wide and this 
directly correlates to direct certification of the state as far as the free school lunch programs. 
We would love to see every kiddo in the state, once you hit a certain level of percentage of kids 
within a school district that has free school lunch, then the entire district can go free school 
lunch.

Chris Bernard:	This is a pilot project in schools but it's also, it's allowing us to test out a model 
that we hope to expand to community base partners and other people who already have the 
trust and work with people who are in these situations to build their capacity to address a 
broader array of issues for their clients. 

Linda Cavitt:	Food security allows them to be kids. That can be the difference between night 
and day. Means I don't have to worry about, does mom have enough money to buy food? 
Where am I gonna eat? Kids get to be able to be kids, and that's huge.