Food Desert No More: North Tulsa’s Fresh Start

Merlon Jones admits that for most of his life, he’s eaten the wrong kinds of food.

Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and plagued with heart problems, Jones, a retired cement mason, had quadruple bypass surgery in 2013. Now, he says he is ready to make a life change.

Jones is one of hundreds of residents in the Tulsa area who benefit from FreshRx Oklahoma — a non-profit that partners with local farms to provide free, nutritious food to residents with Type 2 diabetes. The Rockefeller Foundation, through a grant to fiscal sponsor Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, supports the Tulsa-based organization as part of our Food Is Medicine initiative — which aims to unlock the power and potential of good food to improve health conditions.

Launched in 2021, FreshRx Oklahoma’s food prescription program offers patients fresh produce every other week, cooking classes to make healthy meals at home, and quarterly health screenings.

Its services are particularly pressing for the North Tulsa area — historically considered a food desert. For years, North Tulsa residents had to drive outside city lines just to get their groceries until a private grocery store opened for the community in 2021. The non-profit is also trying to tackle the diabetes epidemic in the state, where nearly 13% of adults are diagnosed with the disease, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Merlon Jones with fresh produce at the FreshRx Oklahoma kitchen.

Merlon Jones says working with FreshRx Oklahoma has been life-changing. “This program has showed me how to get my blood pressure down, how to get my A1c down and how to cook and prepare vegetables so that they’re good for me and they taste good.”

He’s not alone. The organization reports that patients who have graduated from its program have dropped their A1c levels by 2.2% on average.

He credits it for changing his perspective on food and his daily energy levels, “I wake up in the morning, I feel better now. I’ve got vegetables and greens running through my body.”

By the Numbers

FreshRx Oklahoma establishes that its work not only benefits patients, but stimulates the local economy

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the average reduction in blood pressure for patients that graduate from the program
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how much it puts into the local economy for every dollar it spends
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the amount each patient is saving the North Tulsa health system

Regenerative Farm to Table

The fresh produce available to patients like Merlon Jones comes from a network of local farmers whose mission aligns with the organization. Erin Martin, the Founder and CEO of FreshRx Oklahoma, says the power of the program comes down to these farmers.

The organization sources from a variety of local, regenerative farms as its year-round providers — working with 6-10 growers on any given week. Regenerative farming is a holistic approach to food production that prioritizes soil health and fosters biodiversity. The farms are vetted for soil health practices and rewarded for growing quality food over quantity.

We know that the farmers are the true longevity heroes that grow the medicine that truly heal people in communities.
Erin Martin
Founder and CEO of FreshRx Oklahoma

Kat Robinson runs Robinson Ranch, one of the regenerative farms that FreshRx Oklahoma partners with, and calls their partnership a “game-changer.” It’s helped her farm to scale, build more robust infrastructure, and rely on a steady income.

There are other benefits too.

Fresh, locally grown produce from regenerative farms like Robinson Ranch is harvested and delivered to FreshRx Oklahoma patients within 24 hours — ensuring maximum nutrition and flavor for residents managing Type 2 diabetes.

Robinson started growing food to help heal her own family’s health. Since then, she’s found that food from her farm has not only “healed our bodies, but it has blossomed into healing a lot of other people’s bodies.”

Thanks to partnerships between FreshRx Oklahoma and local farms, Tulsa residents now have access to fresh food one day after it is picked from the ground.

Merlon Jones feels strongly that everyone should have access to food prescription programs like this. To him, the service they provide is clear: “it saves lives.”