Celebrate Bake & Take Month in March
By Mandy Gross
FAPC Communications Services Manager
(Stillwater, Okla. – Feb. 28, 2011) Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center, the Oklahoma Wheat Commission and the Made in Oklahoma Coalition is teaming up with Oklahoma 4-H to promote and celebrate Bake and Take Month in March.
The purpose of the Bake and Take promotion is to encourage participants to bake a product made from wheat and take it to a neighbor, friend or relative, said Renée Albers-Nelson, milling and baking specialist for the FAPC.
“The Bake and Take promotion is a wonderful way to get our young people to experience the joys of baking and understanding the importance of the cereal grain and wheat, grown in our state,” Nelson said.
The FAPC and Oklahoma Wheat Commission have worked with 4-H the last three years in promoting this event, and it has worked well, Nelson said.
“We direct our focus towards 4-H, since this group is strong in community service and agriculture,” Nelson said. “As we promote Bake & Take, we encourage participants to purchase Oklahoma-milled flour.”
This year, 4-H members across the state are asked to bake products made with wheat and use Made in Oklahoma products while completing the steps of service learning: preparation, action, reflection and celebration, said Tracy Beck, coordinator of events and activities for Oklahoma 4-H.
Awards will be given to the top three 4-H clubs that participate in the promotion. First place will receive $250, second place will win $150 and third place will be awarded $100. The first place club also will have the opportunity to tour an Oklahoma food processing company.
“A 4-H Club with a minimum of three members participating will bake a food item using Oklahoma-milled flour and a minimum of one additional Made in Oklahoma product as a service learning project in the month of March,” Beck said. “An example might be to take appropriate baked items to places such as a senior center, area shelter, a family in crisis, an elderly or disabled person, animal shelter, etc.”
To be eligible for the contest, the group must prepare a scrapbook between three to six pages documenting the steps of service learning. The official entry form must accompany the scrapbook. This form as well as scrapbook and contest requirements can be found at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/.
The steps of service learning include choose an audience or recipient, contact group to find out dietary needs or restrictions, research wheat and Made in Oklahoma products, select an appropriate recipe and shop for supplies (preparation); bake, package and deliver the item (action); discuss process and outcome, document the activities and make a scrapbook (reflection); and acknowledge the contribution and accomplishments (celebration).
For more information or other Bake & Take promotional ideas, contact Nelson by calling 405-744-6071 or emailing renee.albers_nelson@okstate.edu.
Bake and Take began in 1972 by the Kansas Wheathearts, an auxiliary organization of the Kansas Association of Wheat Growers, as a community service event to celebrate the wheat harvest in Sumner County, Kan. Even though the Kansas Wheathearts disbanded in 2001, Kansas Wheat continues these efforts today.
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Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating. The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.
