The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma serves 24 counties in eastern Oklahoma from its Tulsa headquarters, with a branch in McAlester, distributing donated food to 450 partner programs. The region includes Tulsa, the state’s second-largest city, alongside some of Oklahoma’s poorest rural counties in the southeastern corner bordering Arkansas. Founded in 1981, it is one of the largest private hunger-relief organizations in the state. Jeff Marlow, a longtime staff member promoted to the top job in 2024, serves as CEO.
The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma sources food at scale and distributes it across 24 counties through 450 partner programs, run from its Tulsa headquarters and a branch in McAlester that serves the southeastern part of the region. It also runs its own programs, including a culinary operation that prepares meals and a strong set of child-focused initiatives, reaching kids who lack reliable food outside school.
Jeff Marlow became CEO in 2024, an internal promotion after more than a decade with the organization, most recently as chief culinary officer and executive vice president. His culinary background reflects the food bank’s investment in prepared meals and nutrition, not just boxed and canned goods.
The 24-county service area covers eastern Oklahoma, from the Tulsa metro to the rural southeastern counties bordering Arkansas, an area that includes some of the poorest communities in the state. Eastern Oklahoma’s food insecurity is shaped by its high poverty and, in the rural southeast, long distances to grocery stores and limited transportation.
Yes. The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma is a registered 501(c)(3) and a Feeding America member, operating since 1981, and one of the largest private hunger-relief organizations in the state. Donors can review its financials through Charity Navigator and GuideStar. Bulk buying and donated food mean a gift produces many meals.
Donations and volunteer shifts run through okfoodbank.org. Volunteers sort and pack food, help in the kitchen, and staff distributions, and cash gifts go furthest because of the food bank’s purchasing power.
The Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma covers the Tulsa region and eastern counties, while the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is the state’s largest, covering central and western Oklahoma. For anyone in the Tulsa area or eastern Oklahoma, this is the lead organization.
450 partner programs across 24 eastern counties.
A kitchen operation preparing meals from donated food.
School and weekend food support for kids at risk of hunger.
Food brought into rural southeastern communities.
Sources: Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma website (okfoodbank.org), ProPublica (EIN 73-1184980), and Tulsa World reporting on the appointment of Jeff Marlow. We are not affiliated with Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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