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Food On The Move, the Tulsa, OK-based non-profit founded by musician/entrepreneur Taylor Hanson of multi-platinum, 3x GRAMMY® Award-nominated pop-rock trio HANSON, has announced the launch of The Food Home, a major new project to combat food insecurity and strengthen local food systems in Oklahoma. In conjunction with Giving Tuesday, the organization is officially kicking off the public phase of the capital campaign to fund The Food Home, a four-phase local food campus – including an Urban Farm, Food Hub, Community Hub, and Market – to be located in North Tulsa. An official announcement video premieres today at YouTube HERE.
Food On The Move is further marking today’s launch of The Food Home project with the “Bring Food Home” campaign, an exclusive contest giving fans and supporters around the world an opportunity to tour the project in person with Hanson. For complete details or to make a donation, please visit https://www.foodonthemoveok.com/food-home.
“The Food Home is a major step to reinvest in once neglected neighborhoods while making an impact on us all,” says Taylor Hanson.
Since 2014, Food On The Move has worked to end food deserts in the Tulsa area through mobile community food events, with a long-term strategy to foster the return of permanent grocery stores and healthy food systems. Phase 1 of The Food Home capital campaign will fund the project’s Urban Farm, which combines education and urban agriculture by allowing for year-round produce to be grown through aquaponics and hydroponics systems, along with training opportunities on these new technologies. Food On The Move aims to raise $1 million through its capital campaign to meet a Challenge Grant from The J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation Inc. of Tulsa, OK. The project has already garnered significant support from public and private institutional donors, including Paula Marshall and The Bama Companies, The Hardesty Family Foundation, Will Smith Charitable Trust, and Tulsa County. The full list of partners can be found HERE.
The Urban Farm’s self-sustaining business model will see local fresh produce grown for sale to local distributors and vendors, while ensuring the availability of fresh produce to be set aside for local residents in need. Features will include cutting-edge growing facilities that will house aquaponics, hydroponics, and aeroponics systems; The Hardesty Community Corner gathering and event space; and a teaching facility to develop future urban agriculture professionals using the aGrow Future curriculum. Through a partnership with Tulsa Public Schools, Food On The Move has already laid the foundation for the project at North Tulsa’s Monroe Demonstration Academy. Through their aGrow First program, students have been introduced to a greater understanding of community health along with means to use these principles to combat food deserts and food insecurity.
After years of community conversations and research, Food On The Move believes The Food Home will play a pivotal role in holistically combating lack of quality food access. The new initiative will further Food On The Move’s mission to combat food insecurity by reinvesting in once neglected neighborhoods and establishing a new ecosystem around local produce across the state of Oklahoma.
“Our concept with Food On The Move was if we could forge relationships, understand the community through pop-up events, pay-as-you-can mobile events, bringing fresh produce to where the greatest need was,” says Hanson, “we’d have the best chance at understanding the long-term solutions needed and the long-term answer to how to transform a food desert into an oasis.”
ABOUT FOOD ON THE MOVE:
Food On The Move is a mobile food initiative designed to transform food deserts (areas without access to fresh produce) and the legacy issues created by living food-insecure through food distribution, community partnership, education, workforce development, health assessments, and innovative solutions. Since 2014, it has worked to combat hunger and food insecurity throughout the greater Tulsa area and across Oklahoma, focused on ending food insecurity one community at a time via access, innovation and education. Mobile by design, Food on the Move partners with health experts, community leaders, government agencies, and local businesses to bring quality food and resources into areas without access to fresh produce. Food On The Move aims to affect permanent change that attracts investment, partnerships, the return of community grocery stores, and sustainable local food systems.
CONNECT WITH FOOD ON THE MOVE:
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