Roots and Fruits-Tahlequah Public Schools

Have you ever tried sauteed radishes?! Well, our Summer School students got to try them today during a taste test. The results? "It's bussin'!" "Can I have some more?" "This is delicious!" "Can we have them tomorrow?!"

We couldn't have said it better ourselves! Here's the simple recipe so you can try it for yourself.

It’s been a wild few weeks, but we’re officially wrapping up the regular school year today! 🎉

Don’t worry though… we’ve still got some summer school fun ahead! ☀️📚

We also realized we forgot to share this great moment from Teacher Appreciation Week! 💚 We were so excited to help equip the amazing Sequoyah Pre-K staff with tools for meal prepping and healthy eating. When teachers are supported in taking care of themselves, they’re even better able to model healthy habits for our students every day! 🍎🥗

Now we want to hear from YOU👇
What’s your favorite healthy meal prep recipe or snack idea? Bonus points if it’s quick, kid-friendly, or freezer-friendly! Share your favorites in the comments so we can all swap ideas for summer! ☀️🍓🥙

Roots and Fruits is growing with support from TSET Discovery funding!

Look at the fun we had preparing food for the Etiquette Tea at Cherokee, and the students enjoying the fruits of their labor!

Roots and Fruits is growing with support from TSET Discovery Grant funding!

We had the pleasure of setting up a mini market today with Tenkiller schools summer school program! Students enjoyed shopping for a variety of veggies sourced from Shortline Produce Co. and taste test a smoothie with a mystery ingredient 🤫 it was spinach! The students loved it!

Thank you to the Merritt's with Shortline Produce Co. for all the work they did to get us great produce!

Thank you to Tenkiller schools for having us out, being so welcoming and providing a great group of students for us to work with!

Thanks to our friends with the Impact Network and our coworker Sonya for helping everything run smoothly today!

Thanks to Hunger Free OK for donating bags!

Roots and Fruits is growing with support from TSET Discovery grant funding!

Middle school + blender bikes = a wheelie good time 🚴‍♀️🥤

Last week we teamed up with our FACS department Tuesday and our 6th & 7th graders during lunch on Wednesday for some smoothie-powered fun! They showed up hungry and ready to pedal!

💥 Over 600 smoothie samples served
🍌 40 lbs of bananas blended
🍓 ~40 lbs of mixed fruit used
🧃 Over 4 gallons of juice/milk

Students powered the blenders with their own energy, learning about nutrition, physical activity, and just how fun healthy choices can be. Safe to say, they crushed it!

Ask your student if they tried one and what they thought!

Special thanks to Samantha Dotson who came to help us keep the wheels spinning!

Next up we’re working on getting 8th grade lunch on the schedule because we know they won’t want to miss out on this!

Here is a few pictures of us getting the first smoothies ready! We were too busy pouring smoothies to get pictures once the kids made it out!

Roots and Fruits is growing with support from TSET Discovery Grant funding!

We had an amazing time teaming up with our Transportation Department for afternoon smoothies with our blender bikes. They were blending up healthy fun and great conversations!

Our transportation staff keep everything moving day in and day out, and this was a small way to show appreciation for the big role they play in supporting our students and schools. We’re so grateful for all they do behind the scenes (and on the road)!

Roots and Fruits is growing with support from TSET Discovery Grant funding.

Check out a few of our favorite recipes!

The Southwest Dairy Farmers Mobile Dairy Classroom brought a unique, agriculture experience to Heritage, Cherokee, and Greenwood this week. Students met a real dairy cow (Dixie), watched a live milking demonstration, and learned where milk really comes from- straight from the farm to their table.

A huge thank you to Suzanne Reece our Southwest Dairy Educator and our school sites for hosting allowing this awesome opportunity for our kids. We loved seeing students connect with the people and processes behind their food.

Thank you to everyone who made these visits a success.

P.S. A lot of our students asked about Snickers the cow who visited with Suzanne last time. Snickers is officially retired and living her best life in the greenest pastures. Rumor has it that when Dixie hopped off the trailer, she told Snickers all about the kids and teachers who asked about her, plus she bragged a little about her big trip to Tahlequah! Check out the picture of them together, when Dixie and Suzie got home yesterday! Maybe Snickers pasture isn't quite green right now, 😂 but she gets treated like a princess none the less!

Meet our new Farm to School mascot, Bessy!

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