Reasor’s and The Salvation Army Join to Fight Hunger

From June 21 through July 4, customers of Reasor’s will be able to purchase a $15 or $25 gift card that will be used with those coming through The Salvation Army’s feeding program.

Citing statistics that show 17 percent of all Tulsans live in food insecure homes, The Salvation Army and Reasor’s are launching the Freedom from Hunger campaign to raise awareness and funds to help those in our community who need help feeding their families. All donations will benefit The Salvation Army’s feeding program at the Center of Hope homeless shelter.

“We serve nearly 1,000 meals a day to the hungry in our community,” said Captain Ken Chapman, Tulsa Area Commander of The Salvation Army. “That’s over 357,000 meals each year. And the number is growing.”

Meals served at the Center of Hope increased 16 percent in the last year and 56% over the past 10 years.

“Many people we feed daily aren’t homeless; they come to us because they have nothing in the cabinets to feed their family. This program will address that,” Captain Chapman said.

“Our goal is providing a family, especially a family with children, some stability to allow them to stay in their home and focus on any other barriers that are preventing them from succeeding in life,” said Captain Chapman.

The Salvation Army offers life skills classes on subjects such as budgeting, food preparation on a budget, job interview skills and more to help people become self-sufficient.

“Most people don’t want to live a life of hand-outs,” said Captain Chapman, “but they haven’t been taught any differently. We are addressing that.”

Reasor’s Chief Operating Officer Brent Edstrom, said the partnership with The Salvation Army was an easy decision to make.

“We already work with The Salvation Army at Christmas with their red kettles and providing a gallon of milk to each of the 4,200 families served through the Angel Tree program,” Edstrom said. “Taking this a step further into a time of the year that often poses a food security for families who may rely on school lunch programs during the year made perfect sense.”

If donors are unable to come into a Reasor’s store, they may also text the words #Tulsa Hunger to 85944 and a one-time donation of $10 will be made to The Salvation Army and billed through the donor’s cell phone bill. Funds raised through this text-to-give will be used to purchase the Reasor’s Gift Cards for the Freedom from Hunger program.

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The Salvation Army, established in London in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination for more than 152 years and in the Tulsa area for 111 years. Approximately 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through a range of social services: food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children. 82 cents of every dollar donated to The Salvation Army is used to support those services in 5,000 communities nationwide. The Salvation Army tracks the level of need across the country with the Human Needs Index (HumanNeedsIndex.org). Locally, The Salvation Army Area Command is comprised of nine local facilities including the Center of Hope shelter and social services center, the Tulsa Citadel Corps and Community Center, Area Command and six local Boys & Girls Clubs. For more information, go to SalArmyTulsa.org or follow on Twitter @SalArmyTulsa or Instagram @TulsaSalArmy.