OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- Oklahoma ministers, staff and volunteers with an interest in benevolence ministry will gather in Midwest City to learn how congregations can better use available government food and nutrition programs.

The “I was Hungry and You Fed Me” forum will be held from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on July 14 at the Reed Center, 5800 Will Rogers Road in Midwest City, Okla. It is sponsored by the Office of Faith-Based & Community Initiatives, Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS), Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service.

There is no cost to attend the conference, but registration is required. To register, go to http://www.faithlinksok.org/, click on the News and Events section, and scroll to the Conferences area. The registration deadline is July 8. A Continental breakfast and lunch, featuring keynote speaker Eric Bost, USDA under secretary, Food and Nutrition Service, will be provided.

Highlights of the forum include an overview of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food & Nutrition Service programs in the morning session to include information on the Summer Food Service Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Women, Infants and Children Program. The afternoon session will focus on state programs available through OKDHS, the State Department of Education and the State Department of Health.

Brad Yarbrough, the director of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives stressed the importance of the faith-based community learning about partnership opportunities.

“From small children to senior citizens, too many Oklahomans are going without a good meal,” Yarbrough said. “Events such as this forum allow ministers and congregations to use every resource to reach individuals and families in their communities.”

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