An initiative to raise awareness about food challenges in Tulsa kicked off today with an event at Tulsa Community College.
Food on the Move is a collaboration involving Iron Gate soup kitchen, the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Tulsa Health Department and other partners. The idea is to bring food to people who need it.
Food bank director Eileen Bradshaw said a pay-what-you-can food truck event at TCC’s northeast campus was a good first step.
"Sometimes we just get isolated in our own neighborhoods and don't realize there are people two miles away from us that don't have everything they need," Bradshaw said. "For this, you know, good music, good food, everybody coming together — we fear each other a lot less when we know each other, and we're more inclined to want to help each other."
Musician Taylor Hanson brought together the partners behind Food on the Move. He said the initiative will begin in earnest in September, which is Hunger Action Month.
"The lasting purpose is to build partnership in areas that are designated as kind of a lost cause and find ways to bridge the gap for the next grocery store to go in and stay so that we don't have a job anymore," Hanson said.
Besides food trucks, a mobile grocery store was on site, and volunteers gave away produce from local farms.
