03-05-2025
Oklahoma Company helps OKCPS Foundation support local students
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Fourth graders at Mark Twain Elementary are helping each other's families fight food insecurity through a program they call 'Food Bag Fridays.'
Friday they got a little boost to help them carry on.
'Chips, and fruit snacks,' said a student packing a bag.
'Look! We got those Oreo Minis!' said a little boy.
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Every Friday, Mrs. Jennifer Reyes-Garcia's fourth grade class, at Mark Twain Elementary, files into the library to fill up bags for 'Food Bag Fridays.'
'I like to put the liquids in first. The hard stuff,' said a student.
This Friday, even OKCPS Superintendent, Jamie Polk, helped out.
'Not only do they pack a bag for another fourth grade student, but one of these bags will also be theirs!' she said.
'I noticed on Monday mornings my students were coming in a little more hungrier than they were other days of the week, and they were ready to eat that breakfast and asking for a double snack,' said Mrs. Reyes-Garcia.
The OKCPS Foundation said 91% of the students in the district live at or below poverty level. More than 8% of those students experienced homelessness.
'We might not have enough food to feed everybody in the family,' said a student.
A $50,000 from Oklahoma company Paycom will help.
A portion of the donation goes to fund projects for teachers, like Reyes-Garcia, on the Donor's Choose Program, a non-profit.
'It's the teachers themselves, the educators, that can identify the needs in the classroom,' said Kendra Horn, the OKCPS Foundation President/CEO.
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'Donor's Choose helps us out a lot. We get lots of food,' said Knai Charles, a 4th grader.
After they finish packing they can read their favorite book. All of this is because you can't feed your brain if you can't feed your stomach.
'We're going to give our kids an equitable access to an education. And this is one way to do it,' said Reyes-Garcia.
Paycom's donation will also support OKCPS Foundation's Teacher Pipeline Program, which provides free education for future teachers and administrators, and its ReadOKC program, which improves literacy and cultivates a love of reading.
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