Skyline

Skyline Urban Ministry, Inc. (Skyline) was incorporated in 1974. Started as an outreach ministry of the Oklahoma United Methodist Conference in 1968, Rev. Mac Thompson was appointed by the Conference as the Oklahoma City Urban Minister and charged with working alongside churches and agencies in the inner city of Oklahoma City. Skyline began as a way for Methodist parishioners and churches to reach, connect with, and serve the needs of Oklahomans living in poverty in Oklahoma City. 

Skyline has grown and changed a lot over the years, with a recent achievement being the million dollar expansion of our building in 2014, allowing us to consolidate all of our services at one site. The expansion also provided a new state of the art Eye Clinic and a patron-choice Food Resource Center that has become a model structure for food pantries throughout the state. Skyline added the Mobile Pantry and Garden Programs in 2019 to provide education and additional food resources to patrons.

Impacting lives, empowering those in need, and addressing the roots of poverty in Oklahoma.

Food Resource Center and Mobile Pantry

The Food Resource Center and Mobile Pantry provide free groceries to food-insecure Oklahomans. We utilize a choice pantry model allowing patrons to select the items that best meet their family needs and preferences leading to reduced food waste, reduced cost associated with food distribution, and an increased emphasis on the dignity of our patrons. In 2023, Skyline provided service deliveries of free groceries to 58,727 individuals through the combined efforts of our on-site Food Resource Center and Mobile Pantry, distributing over one million pounds of food to Oklahomans in need. This represents a 63% increase in service deliveries over our 2022 statistics. The Food Resource Center and Mobile Pantry served 20,054 unique individuals in 2023. 

Eye Clinic

The Skyline Eye Clinic utilizes volunteer doctors to provide free eye exams for uninsured patrons. In 2023, our clinic provided 1376 free eye exams. Skyline patrons can also order custom prescription eyeglasses at low cost through the Eye Clinic. Single vision and bifocal glasses are available for $45 a pair, with scholarships available to further subsidize the cost of eyeglasses. Skyline provided patrons with 920 pairs of prescription eyeglasses and gave away 95 free pairs of reading glasses in 2023.

Garden

The Skyline Garden is a new program, started in 2019 as a way to provide additional fresh produce directly to Skyline patrons. The Skyline Garden provided 3013 pounds of fresh produce directly to our Food Resource Center patrons in 2023. The Garden is focused on helping positively impact overall wellness of Skyline patrons and offers regular educational opportunities. In 2023, Skyline partnered with Shidler Elementary School to provide hands-on gardening education as part of the elementary science curriculum. The Garden Program provided weekly hands-on gardening lessons to 30 Shidler pre-K students in a 6 week period. In addition, the Garden program offers adult education classes to patrons and community members. 

Style Shop

The Skyline Style Shop receives referrals from school counselors, nonprofit agency partners, and churches. Families referred to Skyline may select up to 10 items of clothing for each person in their household free of charge. In addition, the Style Shop provided 262 school uniforms to students in need in 2023. We have a large selection of formal dresses available free of charge to students for prom, and provide Christmas gifts each year to families in need. Skyline served over 2000 patrons through our Style Shop programs in 2023. In partnership with churches, businesses, and individual donors, Skyline provided 3 gifts to 323 children for Christmas.