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Hunger Free Oklahoma awarded Blue Impact℠ grant to help feed children who cannot access summer meal programs

TULSA, Okla. — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) recently awarded $935,000 in Blue Impact℠ grants to 27 nonprofits addressing the social and economic factors that play a role in health and wellness across Oklahoma.

One of these organizations, Hunger Free Oklahoma, is working to end hunger — including childhood hunger — in our state. More than one in five Oklahoma children don’t get the food they need, and Hunger Free Oklahoma is committed to ensuring all Oklahoma children have access to nutritious food year-round. This Blue Impact grant will reduce childhood hunger by making sure more of these children have access to federally funded summer meal programs.

"Hunger Free Oklahoma is honored to be a recipient of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma's generosity,” said Chris Bernard, president and CEO of Hunger Free Oklahoma. “Our proven, sustainable and measurable interventions to end hunger in Oklahoma are in line with the stated purpose of the Blue Impact grant program. This funding goes far beyond financial support; it is a vote of confidence in the mission and work of Hunger Free Oklahoma. Tens of thousands of rural Oklahoma children will have better access to summer meals and for that we are deeply grateful to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma."

Since 2011, Blue Impact grants, formerly known as Healthy Kids, Healthy Families^®, have supported nonprofit organizations that provide a variety of health-related services with proven, sustainable and measurable programs. The funding supports programs that reach children and their families in five key areas: economic opportunity and stability, neighborhood and built environment, nutrition, locally defined health solutions, and optimal health outcomes. 

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About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is the only statewide customer-owned health insurer in Oklahoma. We believe Oklahoma consumers and employers deserve the best of both worlds: access to affordable, quality health care and top-notch service from a company that focuses solely on customers, not shareholders. Customer value is our cornerstone. We are proud of the work we have done within our communities by helping to change the way we all live. Thanks to our more than 800,000 members, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is able to focus on the health issues that impact our members as well as all Oklahomans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Media Contact                  

Jenny Lee
918-724-6082
Jenny_Lee@bcbsok.com