Amanda Pacheco drove through Winter Storm Fern, delivering other people’s groceries for Lyft — but couldn’t put food on her own family’s table.
“It’s crazy because you just can’t afford stuff no more — there’s nothing that you can afford off the wages you make here in Oklahoma,” Pacheco said, tearing up. “If you don’t get food stamps or something like that, there’s no way you cannot be hungry in a moment.”
Pacheco and her adult daughter care for six children, ages 8 through 16, in west Tulsa. They say even the city’s 211 helpline has told them there are “no services” in their zip code: 74127. Facebook posts and local news organizations pointed them toward a bright spot in their neighborhood: Food on the Move’s Friday grocery giveaway.
Due to the winter storm, Food on the Move moved its grocery bag distribution to Friday afternoon. Nearly 300 families packed into the Northwest Tulsa Hub, many of whom were hit hard by the city’s weather shutdown.
Like Pacheco, it was Cierra Wooten’s first time attending the nonprofit’s food giveaways. With 6-month-old Samuel on her hip, Wooten said it was difficult to manage three kids at home during the storm — and in a single income household. She looked forward to the canned goods in her grocery bag.
Teri Vaught’s family went “stir crazy with kid,” during the winter storm and “depleted any kinda extra groceries.”
It wasn’t Vaught’s first time at Food on the Move. She first learned about the nonprofit during the pandemic, and she regularly attends the Chamberlin Park giveaways.
“They usually give out good produce that I can’t usually get,” Vaught said.
She receives disability benefits, but high rent and a fixed income make it hard to afford quality groceries. When Food on the Move rescheduled for Friday, she thought, “I got to be there.”
Marcia Rennick and Ramona Owens have attended senior programs at the Northwest Tulsa Hub for years.
Rennick said Food on the Move’s hydroponic garden and food giveaways are the closest resource for healthy groceries in the neighborhood. At one point, Owens said there were more than four grocery stores to choose from.
“We are the forgotten area of Tulsa,” Owens said. “We don’t have anything out here — we just got the hub, this is a blessing.”
William Woods understands. He’s the hydroponics and aquaponics farmer for Food on the Move. His family lives in the neighborhood too and relies on Dollar General and convenience stores when stocking their pantry. A bus trip to the Sand Springs Walmart, just five miles from the Friday giveaway, takes an hour each way.
“That’s part of the reason we picked to go here, that’s where there’s the food insecurity,” Woods said.
Friday’s grocery bags were packed with milk, bread, potatoes, brussel sprouts, zucchini and various fruits. The nonprofit will soon grow its own produce at a large aquaponics farm in north Tulsa, Woods said, and give out plant starters for people to do the same at home.
“People really depend on this,” said Ramal Brown, Food on the Move’s community outreach coordinator. “I was more than surprised, I wasn’t expecting over 200 people, 200 families came out today and we’re almost out.”
Pacheco and her daughter both took a bag of groceries home. In a time where neighbors have less to give, she said, “we need more like this.”
Find a list of upcoming food distributions here.
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