On this edition of StudioTulsa Medical Monday, an interesting chat with Katie Plohocky, who is one of the founders of the locally based Healthy Community Store Initiative. This organization, as noted at its tulsarealgoodfood.org website, was formed "to address the food desert problem in Tulsa, Oklahoma.... [By way of] horticulture, community gardening, nutrition and cooking demonstrations, retail operations, policy advocacy, and community projects...the Healthy Community Store Initiative intends to integrate programing and solutions, from farm to landfill, to rebuild the bridges linking the distribution points of our local food system. Today, we have six programs built on that integration, piloting viable solutions and working with partners to create economic opportunities in vulnerable communities." Plohocky talks about some of these vitally important programs on our show today, including the Real Good Food Truck, which is a mobile grocery store that makes more than a dozen stops per week in various Tulsa neighborhoods that lack a nearby supermarket. This truck aims to bring fresh produce, quality meats, and other useful items -- many of them locally grown or created -- directly to the so-called "food deserts" in our community. In doing so, this initiative also aims to promote healthier, more nutritious eating habits among all who come in contact with it.
ST Medical Monday: Katie Plohocky and Her Various Efforts to Combat Local Food Deserts
