The OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park is proud to announce its partnership with Shape Your Future. The new farmers market and Shape Your Future will collaborate with chefs across the Oklahoma City metro to show the public how to make simple, healthy recipes using locally-sourced ingredients from the farmers market.
Shape Your Future, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), is a reliable source for tips that help Oklahomans live healthier, longer lives. Shape Your Future provides free resources on physical activity, nutrition, water consumption and living tobacco-free lifestyles. One focus of the program is encouraging Oklahomans to eat healthier by filling half their plates with fruits and vegetables.
“Eating fruits and vegetables and incorporating them into daily meals is a must to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and we are excited to partner with the OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park to help make this easy for Oklahoma families,” said Julie Bisbee, TSET executive director. “TSET’s mission is to help improve the health of all Oklahomans. This partnership allows us to bring healthy recipes to life in a fresh, new way. That the cooking demonstrations are both easy to follow and the dishes simple to make at home with locally grown ingredients is a win-win.” Mary Bixler, Scissortail Park farmers market manager, says it is difficult to buy affordable, quality fresh food in downtown Oklahoma City.
“Downtown is one of the many food desserts in Oklahoma City. It is very important that we increase accessibility of fresh, local and nutrient-dense food to Oklahomans, and in order to do that we need access to this food as well as education on how to utilize and preserve it,” Bixler said. “We are very excited about our partnership with TSET’s Shape Your Future program. This is a great resource for the diverse communities of the larger Oklahoma City area because it will help teach people how to make use of local ingredients that we might otherwise not know how to work. Additionally, chefs will demonstrate how to be more sustainable in using all parts of the plant or animal so as to cut down on waste and maximize the utility of fresh, seasonal products.”
The new OSU-OKC Farmers Market at Scissortail Park is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. through October. Products are entirely made or grown in Oklahoma, and many market members offer EBT/SNAP benefits. The market is also working on a partnership with Hunger-Free Oklahoma in order to facilitate “Double Up Oklahoma”, or DUO, a program that doubles the amount of EBT/SNAP benefits up to $20.
A drive-up loading zone called the “Veggie Valet” is available for guests for curbside package pickup on Oklahoma City Boulevard. After purchasing products from market members, customers can request the “Veggie Valet” service and park staff and volunteers will store items in a tent and place them in vehicles once customers pull up.
Live recipe demonstrations will take place every Saturday at the Love’s Travel Stops Stage at Scissortail Park sponsored by Shape Your Future. The time for these demos is still to be determined due to COVID-19.
To find the first recipe and step-by-step video, visit SYFOK.com/scissortail.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations working toward shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, by cultivating innovative and life-changing research and by working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more, go to www.tset.ok.gov.
Shape Your Future (SYF) is a community health education intervention that encourages Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free. SYF was developed in 2011 by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and the Oklahoma State Department of Health to provide simple messaging for moms and influencers in the lives of children to eat more fruits and vegetables and to be more physically active to improve overall health. SYF strives to educate parents, teachers, caregivers and all Oklahomans on how to make the healthy choice, the easy choice.
The new Scissortail Park is in the heart of a revitalized downtown Oklahoma City. This public space is part of the MAPS 3 program that envisions a healthy and vibrant quality of life for our city while serving as an investment in the future. Every detail is designed for connection – with nature, neighbors and ourselves. It is a place for play, culture, celebration and inspiration.
Scissortail Park features a variety of engaging experiences within 70 urban acres ranging from ornamental gardens and woodlands, to a lake and boathouse, children’s playground, grand promenade, water features, outdoor roller rink, an enclosed dog park, interactive fountain and much more.
Designed by one of the foremost landscape architecture planning firms in the world, Hargreaves Associates, the Park is also a horticultural tapestry of native prairie grasses, lush flower gardens and tree-lined walkways. Together we have created something spectacular. For everyone.
Scissortail Park is managed by Scissortail Park Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.
