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News
May 2009 Newsletter Available
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture Food and Forestry
April 26, 2010
Farm to Market with Tulsa School Children
Tasting of fresh locally grown asparagus, whole wheat pancakes, fresh tomato salsa along with planting tomato plants in biodegradable pots while learning about where milk comes from and composting with worms was a huge hits at the Farm to Market event held with several Tulsa Public schools. KTUL CH 8 in Tulsa visited the fun educational event to share the story and video. Partners included Tulsa Public Schools, OK Dept of Agriculture Farm to School, OK Wheat Commission, Tulsa County Cooperative Extension Nutrition Educators and Master Gardeners, Southwest Dairy and fresh produce, plants and products from local Oklahoma farmers. http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0410/729029_video.html?ref=newsstory
Oklahoma Farm to School wins "Champions of Health" Award
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Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach, Farm-to-School administrator Chris Kirby, and Kerr Center president Jim Horne with Champion of Children's Health award. (click on image for high resolution) |
The Farm-to-School Initiative of the Oklahoma Food Policy Council, the Kerr Center, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, the State Department of Education and many other partners received the 2007 “Champion of Children’s Health” award Oct. 8 at an awards banquet in Oklahoma City.
The group was honored for their five year effort to establish a statewide farm-to-school program that would positively impact children’s health.
The popular program has brought Oklahoma-grown watermelons and honeydew melons into 35 school districts and almost 400 schools across the state. The goal of farm-to-school is to “grow healthy kids and a healthy rural economy.”
The Oklahoma Food Policy Council is a joint project of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) and the Kerr Center. The twenty seven council members and ad hoc members represent a cross section of Oklahomans.
Kerr Center president and council chairman Dr. Jim Horne and Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry's secretary Terry Peach accepted the award. Dr. Horne thanked the council’s members and supporters for their work and pointed out the potential benefits of the program for Oklahoma farmers. Secretary Peach voiced the hope that the program can be established in every Oklahoma school.
“We’re just getting started,” he said.
Farm-to-school programs get kids excited about eating healthy foods by serving high quality fresh fruits and vegetables in lunchrooms. Educational activities that teach kids about food, nutrition, and farming are coordinated with deliveries of the locally grown produce.
The children’s health award is one of eleven “Champions of Health” Awards given annually in various categories to individuals or groups “working to make a difference in the health of their communities.”
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma State Department of Health, the Oklahoma Hospital Association, the Oklahoma Osteopathic Association and the Oklahoma State Medical Association sponsor the awards.
In May, the Oklahoma Food Policy Council was named a “Partner in Advancing Public Health” by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The award recognizes “substantial contributions by a state or local partner” to the state’s efforts to prevent obesity and other chronic diseases.
The CDC cited the council’s “dedication to public health” and its “creative energy” in developing the farm-to-school program.
