Celebrate Bake & Take Month in March
(Stillwater, Okla. – March 1, 2012) 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.
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.
The FAPC and Oklahoma Wheat Commission have worked with 4-H the last four 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.”
4-H members across the state are asked to bake products made with wheat and use Made in Oklahoma Coalition 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.
“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 Coalition 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.”
New to the Bake & Take promotion this year, there will be two categories, scrapbook and video.
“To match the continual advancements in technology, Bake & Take added the video component to the competition this year,” Nelson said. “This category will provide students with another opportunity to put their creativity to use.”
To be eligible for the scrapbook contest, the group must prepare a scrapbook between three to six pages documenting the steps of service learning. In the video category, groups submit their video also documenting the steps of service learning. The five-to-seven minute videos will be judged on appearance, steps of learning listed and requirement fulfillment.
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.
The official entry form must accompany the scrapbook and video entries at submission. This form as well as contest requirements can be found at http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/.
For more information or other Bake & Take promotional ideas, contact Nelson by calling 405-744-6071 or emailing renee.albers_nelson@okstate.edu.
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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.
