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House Signs off on Plan to Let Schools Send Food Home with Needy Kids

FDA

The Oklahoma House has approved a bill to let schools send home extra food with needy kids.

Oklahoma City Democrat Jason Dunnington said right now, schools — his kids' included — often end up throwing out uneaten, extra food from breakfast and lunch.

"One in four children in Oklahoma suffer from food insecurity, and this is just a common-sense way of trying not to waste good food, send that home with kids that need it for themselves and their families," Dunnington said.

Dunnington co-authored House Bill 1875 with Guthrie Republican Sen. AJ Griffin.

"What we're doing is allowing them to save unopened, unused food at that time so it can be redistributed to children at the end of the day," Dunnington said.

The bill says districts may allow schools to donate eligible leftovers to a nonprofit, but the schools may store and distribute that food on site. The House passed the bill 95–0.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.