Food On The Move Receives $100,000 USDA Farm to School Grant

Food On The Move has been sowing seeds for change in Tulsa, since its founding in 2014, now the federal government is fertilizing the soil of innovation with a large grant.

 Food On The Move’s efforts received a $100,000 grant from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for farm to school programming. This highly sought-after funding will support programs in Tulsa that teach local students urban farming techniques. Students participating in these programs will also benefit from entrepreneurship and nutrition lessons through weekly classes.

“Education is a key piece of battling food insecurity. Through our farm to school programs, we are teaching children at a young age the impacts of a food desert, how to source local food, and why access to healthy food is critical for the wellbeing of our communities,” shared Chief Executive Officer Kevin Harper.

 Food On The Move aims to reduce food insecurity in Oklahoma through access, education and innovation relating to urban farming. Through Food On The Move programs, students at Monroe Demonstration Academy are learning techniques such as aquaponics and hydroponics.

“There is a direct link between gardening and academic performance. We are forging pathways for students and teaching them critical skills for their development through food,” stated Harper.  

Food On The Move was the only Oklahoma non-profit to receive this selective USDA grant. As a result of their impactful work, The George Kaiser Family Foundation has provided matching funds for Food on the Move’s agriculture and education programs.

Food On The Move and Roots Food Foundation Tackle Food Insecurity for Student Athletes

Food on The Move and Roots Food Foundation are teaming up to tackle food insecurity among high school athletes in a new program launched this season with the Booker T. Washington football team. Through the program, football players in need can take home healthy meals and snacks throughout the school year.

“Twenty percent of Tulsa youth face food insecurity,” shared Rusty Rowe, Food on the Move Program Director. “Proper nutrition is vital for the success and wellbeing of our athletes, both on the field and in the classroom. This program is a step towards ensuring these student-athletes have access to healthy food options while educating them on the importance of nutrition.”

Since October, players have received 332 donated meals, and the organizations have pledged to supply 3,232 more this year. Additionally, Food on the Move, in collaboration with Roots Food Foundation, will host nutrition classes for these student athletes to emphasize the importance of healthy food.

"We’re grateful to partner with Food on the Move and Booker T. Washington High School to bring fresh, nourishing meals to student athletes. We hope this program inspires young athletes to make healthy food choices today and into their future,” said Laura Kovacevich, Executive Director, Roots Food Foundation.

Food on the Move collaborates with Tulsa schools to provide resources and knowledge to combat food insecurity. Food on the Move hosts additional student programs in local schools, including their Ag in Schools Program which trains and educates students on innovative farming systems.

Food On The Move Hosts “Movers and Shakers” Gala

Food On The Move is fighting food insecurity with its inaugural Movers and Shakers gala, an upscale celebration at the OKPOP Museum on Saturday, November 11.

Founded by Taylor Hanson, Food On The Move has been focused on ending food deserts in Oklahoma through access, education, and innovation.

With multiple Community Food and Resource festivals per month and innovative urban farming techniques, Food On The Move continues to expand its reach to Tulsans in need. Funds raised from this event will go directly towards food distribution, educational programs, workforce development, health assessments, and innovative solutions to combat hunger.

Movers and Shakers is Food On The Move’s first large-scale fundraising event since its founding in 2014. Attendees will spend the night celebrating the leaders and partner agencies fighting food insecurity in Tulsa. There will be prime dining, cocktails, and entertainment. Food On The Move’s founder and member of Hanson, Taylor Hanson, will be at a private after-party for select sponsors. The event is chaired by Arthur and Eninja Jackson and Jackie Price Johannsen and Alan Johannsen.

“Access to healthy food is critical to the success and well-being of our community. This event is a chance for Tulsans to come together and join us in the fight against hunger,” shared Chief Executive Officer of Food On The Move Kevin Harper.

Sponsorships and details about event tickets are available online. Each level includes tickets to the event and exclusive perks. Proceeds will benefit Food On The Move’s mission to transform food deserts and legacy issues created by living food-insecure in the Tulsa community.

Those interested in sponsoring can contact Food On The Move at events@foodonthemoveok.com. More information can be found on the event page.

FOOD ON THE MOVE AND PARTNERS HELP FEED STORM VICTIMS IN GREEN COUNTRY

Power outages from the Father’s Day storm left many people around Green Country with spoiled food and a need to replace what they lost to feed their families.

Food on the Move, a nonprofit organization in Tulsa, partnered with dozens of groups for a community food and resource festival on June 27.

News On 6 saw a great need for the giveaway. The first person in line said she got there at 10:30 a.m., waiting for seven hours for the event to start.

Hundreds of people also waited, some bringing their kids and pets.

Everyone News On 6 talked to said they are grateful for the food.

Kimberly Scott and her teen daughter are among the 500 families who got free groceries outside the Greenwood Cultural Center.

"We lost everything, and now we'll be able to get some food tonight because it's kind of hard, and we're living between paychecks,” said Scott.

Food on the Move said thanks to a partnership with Joe Deere Cherokee Councilor and the Cherokee Nation, in addition to the usual fresh produce, families also got 10 pounds of meat and milk.

Food trucks even gave out meals, and there were two dozen booths from community partners with resources to help people navigate after the storm.

There was also fun and fellowship with people dancing and getting to know each other. People in line stayed hydrated thanks to Tulsa's own Taylor Hanson passing out water.

Brenda Clawson said it was the perfect event to help boost our community's morale.

"I think this is just a godsend, like right now, I'm sitting at home,” said Clawson. “You got the state telling you to be patient. I don't know how to be patient when I got this little one like, 'I'm hungry.’ So, this is awesome, this is an awesome thing for them to be doing right now."

Marshall puts FOTM on the Giving Train

Marshall Brewing Co. will celebrate its 15th anniversary with an event that will also launch a new partnership with the local charity Food on the Move.

The event will be from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 29 at Marshall Brewing tap room, 1742 E. Sixth St. The 15th anniversary celebration is free and open to the public.

Live music will be provided by Beau Robinson and the Paul Benjaman Band. Other events include a trivia contest and “Sudden Death Disc Golf” putting competition.

“Marshall Brewing’s success has been driven by community support,” said Wes Alexander, the company’s director of sales and marketing. “With the success of our newest beer, Slow Train IPA, we have been inspired to give back to our community.”

Slow Train IPA gets its name from the train that passes by Marshall’s tap room multiple times daily. As the train passes by, guests are offered $1 off pints of Slow Train IPA for a period of time.

“The Slow Train promotion inspired us to find a charitable partner and enact a fundraising campaign we call ‘The Giving Train,’” Alexander said. “We are excited to announce Food on the Move as our charitable partner. Over the course of the year, our guests will have opportunities to donate, volunteer and learn more about Food on the Move.”

Proceeds from “The Giving Train” will go toward Food On The Move’s initiatives, including its monthly events that offer fresh produce, community resources and hot meals from local restaurants.

Food On The Move, founded by Taylor Hanson of the band Hanson, is a mobile food initiative designed to create a collaboration of food, health experts and community partners to mobilize quality food into local food deserts to combat hunger and food insecurity through access, innovation and education.

“We are on a mission to fight food insecurity, and we are grateful for partnerships like this that allow us to make a greater impact on the Tulsa community,” said Kevin Harper of Food On The Move.

Go to marshallbrewing.com for more information.

PSO, Food On The Move, EPRI Celebrate New Container Garden

 With the help of Public Service Company of Oklahoma, an American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) company, and EPRI, Food On The Move is using emerging technology to battle Tulsa’s food deserts. 

A PSO/EPRI container garden used by Food On The Move takes advantage of LED technology, high-efficiency HVAC and recirculating water pumps to grow nutritious food year-round in a stable environment that is free of bugs and reduces or eliminates the need for pesticides. 

“PSO is excited to be part of this important project that will help build a more resilient community, increase access to healthy food and encourage STEM education,” said PSO President and Chief Operating Officer Leigh Anne Strahler. “Container gardens represent the crossroads of agriculture and technology. They are energy-efficient and produce clean, abundant crops.” 

Food On the Move harvests as much as 78 pounds of kale a week from the indoor garden, enough to serve 600 families. 

“We believe in the power of innovation and partnership to help combat food insecurity and transform communities,” said Food On The Move Founder Taylor Hanson, a member of the pop group Hanson. “The partnership utilizing the PSO/EPRI container garden has already embodied innovation not only between Food On The Move and PSO, but directly with the communities we serve every day. We cannot wait to continue to serve our neighbors through the power of growing produce and bringing healthy food to all of Oklahoma.” 

Food On The Move distributes food in three community food and resource festivals held in Tulsa food deserts each month. Each participant receives 30 pounds of fresh produce, including kale among many other items. They also receive a hot meal, and other assistance, such as health checks and resume assistance. On the first and second weeks of the month, food is shared with existing food nonprofits, such as Catholic Charities. 

“This technology has allowed us to produce high-quality, organic produce more efficiently and much quicker than traditional farming methods, which allows us to share with the community and local grocers even sooner. This is just the beginning of what we hope to accomplish through urban farming," said Kevin Harper, CEO and president of Food On The Move. 

The container garden is a joint effort of PSO and EPRI, an independent nonprofit energy research and development institute that has piloted more than a 20 containers gardens within the United States, including projects with PSO’s sister companies, AEP Ohio and SWEPCO 

"Indoor farming offers healthy, locally grown produce year-round, while increasing crop yield, decreasing energy required for transportation and using water efficiently," said David Porter, EPRI vice president of electrification and sustainable energy strategies. "We're proud to work with these collaborators, the local community, and the next generation of farmers." 

To evaluate the efficiency of the Tulsa container garden in comparison to other EPRI projects, Food On The Move will grow kale for the first phase of the project. Later, a variety of vegetables will be grown. Crops inside the container are closely monitored using sensor and meter technology, which continuously gather real-time data on growing conditions, energy and water use and other factors. 

The container garden is literally a growing resource for STEM education. Food on the Move uses the indoor agriculture site to facilitate an elective course that includes hydroponics and aquaponics at Monroe Middle School. During recent FFA Chapter Officer Leadership Training conferences, PSO briefed FFA chapter advisors on the container garden and the opportunity to use collected data for agriscience fair projects on indoor agriculture. 

Dirt-free digs: FOTM's Urban Farm uses aquaponics systems

Don’t expect to see dirt or shovels at the Urban Farm on East Apache Street in north Tulsa, as soilless food growth is the M.O. here. This 10,000-square-foot controlled environment agricultural facility will house state-of-the-art aquaponics systems (growing plants in nutrient-rich water utilizing fish as a sustainable

fertilizer) and will represent “the perfect environment that’ll be the future of farming,” says Kevin Harper, CEO and president of Food On The Move, the parent agency.  

Harper expects the Urban Farm to produce approximately 150,000 pounds of organic, fresh produce per year. Most produce will be sold to local distributors and vendors; some will go to local residents in need. 

Another growth feature of this aquaculture will be a fresh crop of urban farmers. Mixing education and entrepreneurship, the Urban Farm will train participants in these new technologies so they can start their own urban farms.

The organization educates sixth through eighth graders and will hire five student interns this summer. Anyone interested is eligible for training. “We’re not trying to make money,” Harper says. “We’re trying to empower people.”

Food On The Move began in 2014; Harper has been at the helm since 2019. Describing the process as “holistic and collaborative,” he says, “we live and die by our partners — health experts, community leaders, government agencies, local businesses.” 

The Urban Farm is phase one of the Food Home, which will eventually include Food Hub, Community Hub and Market in north Tulsa. Food On The Move fights food insecurity locally and strengthens food systems statewide. The nonprofit was founded by musician/entrepreneur Taylor Hanson of Tulsa’s pop-rock trio of the same last name.

Taylor Hanson: Creating a Movement through Food

TulsaKids interviewed Taylor Hanson about Food On The Move’s many programs and ways we help serve the Tulsa Community.

You can listen to the full interview on the Sharing Passion and Purpose Podcast by Nancy Moore on your favorite podcasting platform or directly at: SharingPassionandPurpose.com.

Column: Thankfulness is collective, and Tulsa embraces this spirit

We think of food when we think of giving thanks. When we sit down for a meal, it often triggers thoughts of thankfulness.

Thanksgiving is the pinnacle of giving thanks for more than a single meal. Thanksgiving is more than a day to enjoy food with loved ones. At its heart, it is the “gateway holiday” that starts a whole season of reflection leading up to New Year’s Day — a time for us to take stock and declare who we are and what is important to us.

Through our self-assessment, we initially examine everything through a lens of our individuality. However, should this Thanksgiving tradition, which leads to reflection on what we are grateful for, go beyond our individuality?

Can it encompass more than those who sit around our table? Does it cross boundaries of ethnicity, religion and culture? Is it more than an American holiday, but rather a universal practice?

I believe the answer to the above questions is yes. Thanksgiving breaks the barriers of property lines, political parties and our unconscious bias, removing all boundaries.

The last few years have taught us several lessons we can’t ignore. Thankfulness, in its most basic form, is something collective, something we celebrate as a community, as a city, and as something that brings dignity to our diversity. I believe we live in a city that embraces these truths and offers hope, a spirit of cooperation, and is an example for the nation of what a strong city looks like.

I call it TulsaStrong!

Case in point — a little over a year ago, the announcement was made that Tulsa would receive 800 Afghan refugees. As Catholic Charities, under the leadership of Deacon Kevin Sartorius, led the way, several organizations joined to serve our city and our new neighbors.

Food On The Move, a nonprofit I have the honor to lead, was called to action to oversee the food distribution for our new Tulsans. Several other organizations also stepped up to focus on housing, jobs, education and other areas to help our new neighbors with their transition to Tulsa.

Food On The Move designed a program to provide three meals a day, plus other essentials, to our new neighbors while they lived in local hotels awaiting permanent housing. In an effort to ensure that these new Tulsans were welcomed with the spirit of Oklahoma, we called the program Operation Welcome Home.

For 204 consecutive days, we delivered meals, prepared by Jeff Marlow and his team at the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, to our new neighbors. As we called for volunteers to help us serve, we were met with incredible support — from foundations, for-profits, not-for-profits, houses of worship from every religion, and Tulsans from every ethnic background — joining forces and putting all differences aside to serve individuals who had suffered in ways we couldn’t imagine.

We were one heart, one mind and one voice. We were One City telling these new Tulsans they are welcomed and wanted.

Located in the middle of a nation in political turmoil, Tulsa led the way with love, thankfulness and compassion. So much so, a meeting was held at Catholic Charities with a Biden administration representative inquiring about why things in Tulsa were effective and asking how to replicate our model in other cities.

The answer is simple. We are a city of people thankful for the life we have. A heart of thankfulness was the driving force to embrace people who had lost everything and were forced to start over in a city they had never heard of.

In that moment, and several other moments the last few years, I witnessed Tulsans stand strong because of the compassion of the amazing citizens who call our city home. Our actions speak volumes about who we are. We are more than our political affiliations, our companies, our houses of worship or our heritage. We are a city of thankful people.

We are TulsaStrong!

In Tulsa, Food On The Move Welcomes 800 Afghan Refugees With Care And Compassion

Oklahoma might not be the first state you think of when ethnic diversity comes to mind. But despite its deep Red reputation, Oklahoma’s cities tend to firmly buck that stereotype.

I recently had the chance to visit Tulsa, a minority majoritycity that accepted 800 refugees through Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma when the United State pulled its troops out of Afghanistan in Autumn.

That’s a daunting number of new people to rehouse in any city, but Tulsans weren’t worried. They knew exactly who to call.

Food on the Move, a Tulsa charity devoted to eliminating food deserts and “the legacy issues created by living in a food-insecure area,” has spent much of the COVID-19 pandemic operating socially distanced drive-thru events for anyone in need, events that support Tulsans by providing everything from hot food to flu shots from the comfort of one’s vehicle. Once it got cold enough that it was no longer safe for unhoused individuals to stay on the street, they began supporting the local homeless population by providing meals and produce boxes to the hotels the city had placed them in.

According to Executive Director Kevin Harper, “during COVID, we distributed 4.5 million pounds of food and purchased almost $400,000 of local restaurant meals.”

So when they got the call that hundreds of new Tulsans were due to arrive in town and would need help getting fed, they were more than ready for the challenge. Because they already had the hotel model established, it only took a few tweaks to transform it into what they call Operation Welcome Home. Harper explained that they, “provide three meals a day. Once a day, six o’clock, we provide three meals a day. We drop off dinner for that night and breakfast and lunch for the next day... And then once a week, on Mondays, we drop off tea and sugar—we found they love their tea.” Their main focus is fresh produce, and in the first 8 weeks of the program they dropped off about 11,000 pounds of fruit.”

Another consideration that was important to Food on the Move was making the displaced Afghans feel welcome. Food is a universal language, so “We designed these welcome baskets.” Working with the small Afghan community already in Tulsa, they made sure every family received, “spices, snacks, a welcome letter that’s also translated into Pashto and Dari, and heating instructions [for pre-made meals].” One of the hotels didn’t have microwaves, so Harper purchased one for every family—he bought so many that the price at his local Walmart jumped by $7.

They also made sure to start out with culturally relevant meals, things they felt confident the refugees would recognize and like. Everything Food on the Move served was Halal, and they worked with a food bank to make massive quantities of Persian dishes like ash reshteh and ghormeh sabzi. But pretty quickly, the volunteers started to hear that the refugees were unhappy with what was being provided.

Harper says it wasn’t so much that the food itself was unsatisfying but that the refugees wanted to try American food. So the team made adjustments.

Even when they’re not doing humanitarian work with international impact, Food on the Move combines cultural programming with their community events. They work with opera singers and DJs, medical students and masseurs to make sure that when people come to get free food, they’re also getting access to both additional resources and a good time. Which is all to say that when the Afghans showed up, Food on the Move contacted Tulsa’s professional soccer team, FC Tulsa.

“On October 30th—there were 150 people here at that point—we took them to a soccer game. We had Andalini’s pizza, which is a local pizza company, Tulsa public schools gave us the buses to transport them over there, the soccer team donated the tickets... And Tulsa did what Tulsa does. Right behind the goal we had this group of just crazy fans. They started inviting our refugees over. They let them hold the flags, beat the drum... These big burly guys are buying jerseys for the kids, taking selfies. The entire community just wrapped around them, which is why we wanted to do this.”

For Food on the Move, making sure people have access to nourishing meals is just the first step. Harper made this clear by saying, “Food just starts a conversation.”

I talked to Harper, Food on the Move’s founder Taylor Hanson (who did in fact spend much of his childhood in the eponymous band), and Director of Communications Danielle Stoltz for a solid hour and a half, barely had to ask any questions, and ended up with enough material for at least two more articles. They were so excited to tell me about not only Operation Welcome Home, but all of their ambitious programming, that I barely needed to get a word in edgewise. Their genuine care, excitement, and ambition was palpable.

As far as Operation Welcome Home goes, Harper explained the goal is ultimately to, “Take a step back, and think how can we make people who are like, ‘I was in Afghanistan, and now I’m in Tulsa, a place I’ve never heard of,’ know that we’re a loving and welcoming city.”

From the sound of it, this wave of new Tulsans definitely know now.

Food on the Move scales up to hand off 4.5 million pounds of food

From March 2020 to May 2021, 4.5 million pounds of food exchanged hands via Food on the Move’s large-scale drive-through giveaways for Tulsans experiencing food insecurity.

“We followed all health department protocols, but we made it fun,” Executive Director Kevin Harper says, describing local DJs, physical fitness and therapy professionals, and food trucks at community food and resource festivals. 

When pandemic precautions scaled back, FOTM looked back to its “original model created in 2014 to serve the community in a holistic way,” he says. 

Community Ambassador Ramal Brown explains the model is a distribution hub where folks can gather around food and information. Local partners are focused on substance abuse services, financial advising and education.

“We’ve worked intentionally to pool all our partners together and offer sustainable community services over time,” Brown says. 

After registering with contact information and family size, participants leave with a 25-pound bag of fresh produce and a hot meal for each family member present, Harper says. Food trucks and activities selected for each block party location change regularly. All FOTM festivals have a pay-as-you-can model, allowing anyone to participate and support the initiative.

FOTM began in 2014 when founder Taylor Hanson wanted to address food insecurity in Tulsa, inspired by advice from one of his mentors, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Edward Perkins: Start with food. It is the great equalizer.

With that, Hanson began Food on the Move in Tulsa with a mission to transform food deserts and the issues created by living in a food-insecure area.

FOTM has been mobile by design and was entirely volunteer driven from 2014 until November 2019, when Harper joined. Now the volunteer roster includes 300  people who serve anywhere from every quarter to weekly.

“We always need more (volunteers), especially since, for at least the next year, we are overseeing the feeding of our 800 Afghan refugees to Tulsa,” Harper says. Both Harper and Brown are former volunteers. 

Volunteers and local partners interested in participating can email info@foodonthemoveok.com.