The Bixby Outreach Center has averaged 20 to 25 new families each month since January for its food pantry. Executive director Julie Prox said the need surprises people in a suburb where the median household income runs 60% above the state average and the poverty rate is just 5.6%.

Prox told the Tulsa Flyer that people can no longer afford things they used to and that many assume there is no need in Bixby. The center now serves about 400 families a month with food assistance, reaching into nearby Mounds, Liberty and Haskell.

The trend extends well beyond Bixby. The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, headquartered in Tulsa, distributed nearly 34 million pounds of food over the past year, surpassing the highest levels recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to president and CEO Jeff Marlow. The food bank's 700-plus partner pantries and meal programs across 24 counties are seeing a 12% increase in demand year over year.

Tulsa County's food insecurity rate stands at 19%, well above the national average of 14.4%, according to 2024 Feeding America data. Every Oklahoma county exceeds 15%. The state ranks first in the nation for childhood hunger, with 27.3% of Oklahoma children classified as food insecure.

The pressure on pantries has grown alongside a sharp drop in federal food aid. Since Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reforms took effect in 2025, 147,000 fewer Oklahomans receive benefits, according to Chris Bernard, CEO of Tulsa-based Hunger Free Oklahoma. Of those who lost SNAP, 42% are children.

SNAP funds account for 90% to 95% of all U.S. food assistance. Oklahomans spend about $1.6 billion in SNAP annually at local grocers and farmers markets. The state's two major food banks have combined budgets of $182 million.

"There is no way we can replace SNAP," Bernard told the Tulsa Flyer. "We could bankrupt George Kaiser in a matter of years if we expect to get philanthropy to cover SNAP."

Carrie Vesely Henderson, executive director of Iron Gate, a Tulsa food pantry, said in an Aug. 26 KTUL report that her pantry numbers were up about 6% this year despite the SNAP decline. She said the center is seeing first-time visitors and families returning after a year or two away.

On Saturday, July 25, Transformation Church's annual Service Day included filling more than 500 "break bags" for local children in partnership with the Bixby Outreach Center. The church donated about $2.4 million to local causes and individual families in 2025.

Tulsa Area United Way's free 211 helpline fielded 32,000 calls last year from people seeking help getting food. Two upcoming events offer ways to help: the 20th annual Tulsa Restaurant Week runs Sept. 18–27, with participating restaurants donating 3% of sales to the Food Bank's Food for Kids programs and the George Kaiser Family Foundation matching donations up to $25,000. John 3:16 Mission hosts its 20th Annual Shootout Against Hunger on Sept. 19.