583,570 people are facing hunger in Oklahoma. However, Lawyers Fighting Hunger ensured that 1,000 Tulsa families didn't face that this Thanksgiving. Lawyers Fighting Hunger started in 2009 when our very own Hugh M. Robert noticed that many non-profits had their funding cut right before Thanksgiving. Along with some close friends, he worked to provide turkeys on Thanksgiving Day to families in need. As time went on and the need continued growing, so did Lawyers Fighting Hunger.
Lawyers Fighting Hunger is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to provide food for families to make holiday meals for Thanksgiving and Easter. While it started with Thanksgiving turkeys, it has expanded to so much more! Now Lawyers Fighting Hunger provides bags of food that include a turkey, stuffing, vegetables, soup, mashed potatoes, gravy, desserts, and even more; anything a family could need for a proper holiday meal is included in these bags. This makes it possible for local families to have a traditional holiday feast without sacrificing.
Many families are forced to make tough choices around the holidays: is it more important to buy a coat for winter or put food on the table? Do we need heating this year, or would it be better to be properly fed? Lawyers Fighting Hunger helps alleviate the pressure around the holidays and allows families to put their money toward utilities or medicines while still having a special Thanksgiving meal.
This year marked the 12th year that Lawyers Fighting Hunger provided bags of holiday food. This year, over 50 volunteers from the Tulsa area served one thousand families during the event. These volunteers worked to assemble the food into bags. These bags were passed on to Iron Gate Tulsa for distribution and various local agencies to deliver to their constituencies (the VA, Parkside Hospital, EduRec, Life Senior Services, Dayspring Villa, Aruba, Cura for the World, Emergency Infant Services, and more).
In previous years, individuals would congregate in downtown Tulsa as local volunteers aided them in assembling their own bags. This meant many people in a very small space. To better meet needs in light of COVID, we changed the look of the event. We now have volunteers pre-assemble the bags and host a drive-through at Iron Gate Tulsa to lower exposure while ensuring local families get the food they need.
Sherwood, McCormick, and Robert are proud to have been an integral part in all 12 years of Lawyers Fighting Hunger. We look forward to watching as the organization grows and aiding it to provide necessary nutrition to local families.
