During tough times, Hartenstein steps up for his OKC community

By Michael Kinney

Isaiah Hartenstein was dragging a little. Even standing at 7-feet tall, it was easy to the Oklahoma City Thunder center was not at peak energy level Tuesday afternoon.

But considering Hartenstein had barely returned from a game in New Orleans, he made sure he was on time for his special event.

In conjunction with the Hartenstein Foundation, he handed out 400 meal boxes at the drive-thru event for families at the Memorial Park club of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County.

“I think it’s two-sided. I think the community does so much for us. I think without the community, we wouldn’t be able to play the sport we love,” Hartenstein said. “And then just being able to see the smiles on the people’s faces… I’m in a really privileged situation, so any time I can give back, any time I can help someone, it’s always really important to me.”

Each of the 400 meal boxes contained 50 meals, which were prepared by Mercy Chefs, a faith-based, non-profit disaster and humanitarian relief organization.

According to Boys & Girls Club President and CEO Teena Belcik, those meals will go a long way in helping families deal with food insecurity during the holiday season.

“It’s been a little bit more unusual this time, where we’ve had to be a little more of a reactive mode instead of planning ahead because of the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits affecting families all over town,” Belcik said. “And the fact that the players and, in particular, the Hartenstein Foundation have thought ahead to say what can we do to help in the community where we live and work has just meant the world to us.”

Even though Hartenstein is just at the start of his second season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he has embraced what he calls the “Oklahoma Standard” when it comes to the community aspect. In particular, he has adopted the Boys & Girls Club organization to benefit the most from his largesse.

It appears Hartenstein had already planned to do a holiday event with the Boys & Girls Club, but he adapted it when he saw the struggles families were having during the 43-day government shutdown and recent legislation changes associated with the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ that is projected to sharply cut SNAP benefits for 42 million participants in the coming months.

“I think for us it was really important, especially knowing the insecurity with food right now,” Hartenstein said. “I think a lot of the SNAP benefits have gone down a lot. So being able to bring 400 meal boxes here that can be 20,000 meals was something really important to us. Being able to make sure the kids and everyone get enough food is always really important to us.”

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, nearly 700,000 Oklahoma residents received SNAP benefits in 2024. That is 17 percent of the total population.

Nationally, the United States Department of Agriculture stated 39 percent of SNAP participants were children.

Belcik said even though many of the parents who bring their children to the Boys & Girls Club often work more than one job, they still fall into the category of needing benefits to just put food on the table and make sure their kids do not go hungry.

“It’s really hard for any of us to see kids that might be dealing with food insecurity,” Belcik said. “And in the state of Oklahoma, one in four children deals with food insecurity. So that’s something we’re always mindful of and we’re always trying to address. It’s just been heightened in the past few weeks. I think it’s just awfully hard, if not impossible, for us as adults to expect kids to be on their best behavior and learn during school if their tummies are growling and if they are worried about leaving school because they don’t know when their next meal will be. So, we’ve tried to do all that we could do.”

Along with Hartenstein, the Boys & Girls Club has received contributions from the United Way and the Regional Food Bank. The community has also stepped up with donations “above and beyond what we normally have,” which has allowed them to hand out more than 120,000 meals since November 1, when SNAP benefits were cut off due to the shutdown.

“So, we’re able to send home things like weekend backpacks or provide an extra snack and a meal while they’re here instead of just the snack,” Belcik said. “We’ve been doing things at all 16 of our clubs to try and do our little piece of it. But of course, we serve thousands of kids, and so it’s very hard to do this by ourselves without partnerships like this one with Hartenstein.”

But just as important as the meals he was handing out was the example Hartenstein was setting for the girls and boys who came up to him wanting to get a photo or just to talk.

“I think that’s one of the biggest things for me, just for the kids, is setting an example, how to approach life, how to navigate through life,” Hartenstein said. “Most of the people here are not in great situations. So just being able to give hope, being able to give knowledge, but then also whenever they make it to wherever they want to get to, that they also give back.”