Chris Walker turned a green and white shipping container at the corner of 56th Street North and North Peoria Avenue into a juice bar.

Blends North Tulsa, at 5603 N. Peoria Ave., serves fresh-fruit juices and slushies in a District 1 neighborhood where fast food restaurants far outnumber grocery stores, the Oklahoma Eagle reported on Friday, Oct. 2.

Walker, the owner, said he wants to give Tulsans healthier choices, starting with the people closest to his stand. "We have a cultural issue that we're trying to change," Walker told the Eagle. "We're trying to make the change off of what is available."

The menu lists pineapple ginger, strawberry mint, sweet potato mango and cucumber mango. Walker's drinks are also sold at the north location of Oasis Fresh Market, where the lineup swaps in apple pie and cucumber kale strawberry flavors.

Walker said some of his diabetic customers and people battling cancer have told him the drinks help with inflammation and appetite. He attributes that to the simple, fresh ingredients.

The food-access gap is well documented. North Tulsa has only one full-service grocery store and more than a dozen dollar stores, the Eagle reported on Sept. 24. The City of Tulsa’s 2025 Equality Indicators report found that North Tulsa residents live an average of 3.3 years past age 66, compared with about 12 years for South Tulsa residents.

Community voices have echoed the need. Kode Ransom, a local historian and Greenwood District business owner, told the Eagle in August, "One grocery store is cool, but we need options."

The gap extends countywide. KTUL reported on Sept. 18 that the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma estimates roughly one in seven Tulsa County residents experience food insecurity. Among children, the estimate is nearly one in five.

Blends North Tulsa is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.