The University of Central Oklahoma’s (UCO) Women’s and BGLTQ+ Center is holding a food drive until Dec. 12 for Pivot, a nonprofit that serves Oklahoma City youth, during a time of increased demand for their food pantry services.
The Women’s Center will be accepting donations in Thatcher Hall 106. The Center’s hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Rae Hundley, the Manager of Marketing and Communications at Pivot, said that the cutting off of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, due to the recently ended government shutdown, came at a time when Pivot was already seeing an uptick in food pantry visitors.
Between the months of July and September, Pivot saw 2,314 visitors to its food pantry.
“We were seeing on average around 200 to 300 folks a month in our food pantries, where I believe last month we were pushing 900 members of our community visiting our food pantry,” Hundley said.
When the Pivot staff first became aware of the possibility of SNAP benefits being at risk, they started making plans. 66% of Pivot’s transitional living clients — individuals who live on Pivot’s campus in tiny homes — are actively enrolled in SNAP.
“It really, really heightened our attention and made us have to shift our focus towards calling on our community for some additional support,” Hundley said.
Part of that community was UCO’s BGLTQ+ and Women’s Center.
“I feel like it’s really important for not only us to kind of engage the campus community in that sense, but also provide Pivot with those resources. I think it’s a good way of collaborating with the wider community and also providing Pivot with food at a time of need,” said Chloe Gotes, a co-manager at the Center.
Pivot has partnered with the Center before, such as during Pivot’s annual Pride Night. Hundley said when Pivot had to look inward for connections they had within the community, UCO came to mind.
According to a financial hardship report conducted by United for ALICE and Tulsa United Way, 45% of Oklahoma households can’t afford basic needs.
“A lot of people that we see are either having to make a choice of, do I pay the electric bill or do I get groceries for my family?” Hundley said.
Pivot serves youth from the ages of 12 to 24 and their families.
“We essentially try to be a safety net for youth,” Hundley said. “Which means we try to ensure that all of their needs are met when they walk through our doors.”
The Center made an Instagram post on Nov. 3 announcing the food drive. The post also included a list of donation needs that are in particularly high demand at Pivot.
Hundley said that shelf-stable items such as beans, rice and pasta “fly off the shelves” at Pivot. Milk, protein shakes and juice are also high in demand.
According to the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma’s website, Pivot is a Certified Healthy Pantry. This certification is given to food pantries that take special care to provide visitors with nutritious options.
“Having those high protein items, having complete meals with fruits and veggies and grains really allows us to make sure that we’re not just giving them junk, essentially, and that they’re able to have nourishing good food,” Hundley said.
Pivot will run the food drive until Dec. 12 and typically sees an increased need for pantry resources during the holiday season, especially around Thanksgiving.
“If the community has our backs, we’re really able to support our youth in a
much larger light,” Hundley said. “Just having people spread the word, be aware of our services, and if they see someone who might need help, referring them to us so we can provide support is one of the greatest things that could help us through these trying times right now.”
The federal government has authorized limited funding for November SNAP benefits, and households should begin to see partial funding based on federal guidance using a revised allotment table on their accounts.
