Owasso Food Pantry Helping Over 400 New Families With Meals, Groceries

Organizers with an Owasso non-profit dedicated to helping people in need say they are seeing a huge increase in people who need help with food. Since the start of 2022, the organization has served more than 400 new households. 

On Monday, Owasso Community Resources received a truckload of food from a nearby food bank that filled up their pantry. By 2 p.m., organizers say they had run out of most of the donations. 

Organizers say they served 74 households for a total of 400 people who needed food on Monday, a day they say was the busiest in two years. The need started rising during the pandemic but didn’t slow down. 

In July, OCR says they have seen a 79% increase in new families this year. That’s about 410 new households getting food since the start of 2022.

To meet the demand, they now get drop-offs every weekday from the food bank. Previously, these deliveries were made only once a week. 

Organizers think issues like inflation and rent increases could be a reason for the struggle. They’re working to keep the pantry sustainable for those in need.

"The cash side of it, trying to be able to pay for that sort of thing has been harder, I help with the grant fundraising," said Mendi Burns with Owasso Community Resources. "We're trying to do more of those sorts of things, reach out to different places that we haven’t before and see if they’re willing to help as well."

The demand for food is showing no signs of easing up. To see what the non-profit is in need of or to learn about helping out, you can visit the website OwassoHelps.org.