Cellular Farmers Market helps youth find out about vitamin

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Monday, October 18, 2021

Media contact: Trisha Gedon | Communication specialist | 405-744-3625 | trisha.gedon@okstate.edu

Students at Zion Public School in Stilwell, Oklahoma, recently put traditional reading, writing, and arithmetic aside for teaching about healthy eating, products, and budgeting.

More than 100 first- through third-grade students have had the opportunity to shop at the Mobile Farmers Market in the school’s gym thanks to the Obesity Prevention Program through the Oklahoma State University expansion.

Jessie Collins, instructor for the HOP program, said the goal of the Mobile Market is to help children learn about the variety of fruits and vegetables available and how to budget for $ 15 in “vegetable dollars” that they had to spend. Students took home 654.2 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables paid for through a grant from the Farm to School program and the HOP program. All products came from the Muskogee Farmers Market and Arnold Fruit Co. After selection, students had the opportunity to try fresh peaches.

“By creating a farmers’ market, we’re offering kids a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and hopefully they’ll try something new,” she said. “They also had to plan their vegetable budget and decide what to buy. One thing I noticed was that some of the students were buying things that they didn’t like but knew that others in their families were doing. ”

This was Collins’s second visit to Zion Public School. The first time the students went home with pre-packed bags. However, she wanted the children to have more hands-on experience and set it up like a farmers market so they could make their own decisions.

“Children are much more likely to try something new if they choose and help out at home,” she said.

First grader Aalyah Proctor selected cucumbers, onions, radishes, green beans, apples, zucchini and pumpkin to take home with her family, along with a small pumpkin as a Christmas decoration.

“I like the way my grandma cooks zucchini in a pan, but pickles and apples are my favorites,” said Proctor.

Third grader Blane Sidebottom bought pears, pumpkin, cucumbers, and apples. He likes fruits and vegetables and was looking forward to trying the pears.

“I like to help cook at home and I know vegetables are good for my body because they’re healthy,” said Sidebottom. “I could make soup out of the stuff I bought.”

Sharon VanDevender, Nutritional Education Assistant at Adair County’s OSU Extension Office, works with school age children teaching about good nutrition and how to make smart food choices. At the Mobile Farmers Market, she was busy weighing all the purchases.

“I really enjoy working with the kids and the teachers here are great,” said VanDevender. “I like to give the children simple recipes with just a few ingredients that can be fresh or canned.”

Lainey Porter, president of the Healthy Oklahoma Nutrition Alliance, said HONA works often with OSU Extension and is always happy to find ways like the Mobile Farmers Market to provide children with healthy, nutritious food.

“Making children aware of various healthy foods, especially those from the region, is one of HONA’s goals,” said Porter. “Through this organization, I am trying to emphasize the value of shopping at a farmers’ market.”

There are several programs that enable Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) recipients to double their purchasing power on fresh fruits and vegetables. The Double Up Food Bucks program will match the SNAP benefit dollars, so recipients can buy twice as much fruits and vegetables.

Collins said the HOP program began in 2018 and is available in Adair and Muskogee counties.

“The obesity rate here is over 40%. Through HOP, we are trying to reduce the high rate of obesity so that people can lead healthier lives by choosing healthier foods, ”she said.

For more information about the HOP program, contact Collins by phone at 918-214-6125 or by email at jessie.garcia@okstate.edu.