BIXBY, Okla. — A Bixby mother's passion for agriculture and healthy eating has blossomed into a business changing the way consumers perceive food.
Not only that, but Kat Robinson has now made it her mission to bring nutrition to Green Country classrooms to educate kids and their parents on making lifestyle choices for the better.
Nestled on a quiet ranch in Bixby, you’ll find chickens clucking away at mealtime and cows grazing.
It's the quintessential scene, but what is happening at Robinson Ranch goes beyond the typical "farm to table."
“I want my kids to grow up in a world that understands real food and not stuff that just comes in a processed bag,” said Kat Robinson, owner of Robinson Ranch and founder of A Bigger Table.
Robinson is also a mom who knows that a healthy diet is crucial to her children’s development.
“I don't think we realize the true connection between what that does to a developing body,” Robinson said. “We see it on our bodies older, as health problems or weight gain, or all kinds of other things, but in a kid, it doesn't show that way. It's them acting crazy or can't sit down for four hours."
She's a firm believer that the Western diet, which is full of fast and processed food, is negatively impacting society.
In fact, a study by the National Institutes of Health connects unhealthy eating habits with children's behavioral problems and parental stress.
Robinson wants to change that, which is how "A Bigger Table Foundation" was born.
“I would love for this next generation to not be the worst off,” she said. “For the first time, we are watching life expectancy tip the other way with modern medicine, so our diet is killing us. You are more likely to die from what you eat than from smoking now, which is insane."
“A Bigger Table,” brings classrooms to the farm to promote lifelong health. Here, students see the real deal — whole foods.
"There's just so much psychology behind what you actually remember when you smell it and you feel it, and you hear it,” Robinson said. “[It] overwhelms your senses."
Students can pick their own food and try it on the spot.
“It’s kind of the positive side of peer pressure,” Robinson joked. “A group of kids will not eat it at home, but they will eat it here. In fact, I've taken video and moms have laughed."
Robinson encourages schools to come visit the ranch and see all the benefits good food has to offer.
The foundation is only six months old but hopes to continue sowing seeds into the next generation.
Robinson Ranch is a female-run farm with a store that is open Wednesday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Customers can also order online, and delivery is free.
For more, click here.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
