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Green Country schools dealing with food shortage

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SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — It's been a common occurrence at restaurants and stores, a lack of food items or higher prices for food.

For many school-aged children, school meals are needed to offset expenses for families, or it's a child's only meal.

Sherry Pearson is the Director of Child Nutrition for Sand Springs Schools.

“It’s gonna help on the side of grocery bills,” Pearson said.

But feeding school-aged children is getting harder in Green Country.

Pearson said, “The manufacturers are choosing to pull the lines that are maybe not making as much money and continue processing those that are."

Meaning the majority of product is being sent to restaurants and grocery stores before making its way into the school system.

“We’re struggling getting products in that meet requirements because we are mandated by USDA," Pearson said.

Now Pearson said her staff is having to come up with different ways to feed children while staying within regulations.

Pearson said her staff has even baked bread from scratch, to make sure it was a menu item.

The problem is not limited to Sand Springs schools.

“It’s not only just the district, it’s nationwide," Pearson said.

Tulsa Public Schools said they are "seeing shortages of food and paper goods."

TPS is adjusting menus to "make appropriate substitutions when needed."

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