TULSA, Okla. — To honor the lives lost 23 years ago in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, one local nonprofit is giving back to the community.
Food On The Move is hosting AARP volunteers from across the state. Together, they’ll harvest produce and prepare the gardens for fall planting. This is part of AARP’s Nationwide Day of Service, which is focused on improving the lives of others in honor of the nearly 3,000 lives lost on 9/11.
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Food On The Move started ten years ago in Tulsa. Its mission is to transform food deserts holistically, and president and CEO Kevin Harper told 2 News they’re looking at food insecurity “from seed to table.”
“We do that with three main pillars, which is access, education, and innovation,” he explained. “Everything that we do comes from just grassroots efforts of talking to the community finding out what’s going on in the food desert, how do we transform the food desert, and empowering men and women of the community to be able to grow food but find jobs in the urban farming community so they can have a sustainable future.”
Harper thinks the greatest food-related need in Tulsa is access to fresh produce.
“I mean, North Tulsa is 69 square miles with one grocery store,” he said. “Most of our guests that come to our festivals don’t have transportation. One of the locations that we serve is an hour bus ride to get to the nearest grocery store.”
He added: “Giving people access to fresh produce is really important because eating healthy makes you healthy, and a lot of stuff that we eat is making us sick.”
So, Food On The Move and its volunteers grow a cornucopia of fresh produce at its Tulsa Food Hub, located at 3829 E. Apache St., not only in traditional outdoor community gardens but also inside pods using hydroponics, aquaponics, and sustainable methods.
From there, they give the produce back to the community—often at monthly events or by giving it to entities like the Tulsa Housing Authority or Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma's food pantry.
Food On The Move received a $16,000 AARP Community Challenge Grant earlier this year, helping expand its Food Hub and community gardens.
Those interested in volunteering for Food On The Move can click here for information.
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