Success Stories - Kentucky Extension Reporting System

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Craig Wood, Ph.D
Acting Associate Dean & Director
UK Cooperative Extension Service

S-107 Ag. Science Center North Lexington, KY 40546-0091

+1 (859) 257-4302

craig.wood@uky.edu

Cooperative Extension Service

Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Impacts

Craig Wood, Ph.D
Acting Associate Dean & Director
UK Cooperative Extension Service

S-107 Ag. Science Center North Lexington, KY 40546-0091

+1 (859) 257-4302

craig.wood@uky.edu

Fiscal Year: 2024

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Jul 1, 2023 - Jun 30, 2024

Success StoriesKentucky Extension Reporting System

Farmers Market and more

Author: Carol Hinton

Major Program: Local Food Systems

The problemBreckinridge County has a large population of senior citizens that are under the poverty level.  Seniors need an avenue to be able to afford fresh vegetables and fruits.  The Senior Farmer Market Nutrition Program is available to eligible seniors in the county.  The distribution of the vouchers in the past 6 years has not been consistent and well advertised.  The educational program responseThe Breckinridge County Extension Service staff offered to be that consiste

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Senior Farmers Market Adds Value to our Community

Author: Adam Thomas

Major Program: Local Food Systems

With an overall food insecurity rate of 12.9% in LaRue County, the percentage of food insecurities is on the rise according to the latest Cooperative Extension Community Needs Assessment.  In addition, when asked to what extent practical education/assistance is in ensuring individuals and families have access to affordable nutritious food needed in LaRue County, survey participants rated this a 4.2 out of 5 which translates to a "very high need." Therefore, the LaRue County C

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Power of Produce- POP Club A New Adventure

Author: Adam Thomas

Major Program: Local Food Systems

With an overall food insecurity rate of 12.9% in LaRue County, the percentage of food insecurities among children in LaRue County rose to 13.9% according to the latest Cooperative Extension Community Needs Assessment.  In addition, when asked to what extent practical education/assistance is in ensuring individuals and families have access to affordable nutritious food needed in LaRue County, survey participants rated this a 4.2 out of 5 which translates to a "very high need."&nbsp

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Jessamine County Farm to Table Dinner Contunues to Highlight Local Food Systems

Author: Steven Musen

Major Program: Local Food Systems

The recognition of the benefits of locally grown foods in terms of superior flavor, food safety and availability of heritage vegetable varieties has caused the popularity of Farmers Markets to steadily increase, especially in urban and sub-urban areas. Jessamine County enjoys two vibrant and growing Farmers Markets, the long-running Wilmore Market and the Nicholasville Farmers Market. The two Farmers Markets are filling a growing demand for locally-grown, health and nutritious vegetable, fruit,

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Accessing Local Food & Products

Author: Gregory Comer

Major Program: Local Food Systems

    Farmer’s Markets play a critical role for in today’s food systems, especially in small communities. They bring urban and rural communities together, while creating economic growth, increasing access to local, fresh, & healthy foods, and supporting food security. USDA data show there are over 8200 Farmer’s Market listed in the National Farmer’s Market Directory nationwide, a 76% increase since 2008.      The Beaver Dam Community F

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Ribes for Eastern KY

Author: Shawn Wright

Major Program: Local Food Systems

The problemWe do not have current recommendation for gooseberry and currant production in eastern KY/The educational program responseI applied for and received a Specialty Crop Block Grant to establish a demonstration planting at the Robinson CenterThe participants/target audienceOther partners (if applicable)Program impact or participant response.Research-based recommendation can be made when the planting begins producing.

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New Graves County Farmers' Market Kickoff Event Huge Success

Author: Miranda Rudolph

Major Program: Local Food Systems

New Graves County Farmers' Market Kickoff Event Huge Success

There has been an ongoing issue in Graves County with creating and sustaining a robust Farmers' Market for the community. Due to several issues, among them not having a good, permanent location to host a market, there has been a lot of negative feedback regarding any efforts to make a market available . According to the 2017 Census, Graves County is the number 1 county for Ag Sales, beating out the second place county by almost $1.2 million dollars. As a county built around agriculture, it h

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Local Love Lunch

Author: Keenan Bishop

Major Program: Local Food Systems

In the Frankfort "Local Foods, Local Places" community conversation, people expressed a need for more school gardens and more local foods to be served in school meals. The Love Local Lunch idea was created for Frankfort Independent Schools by the Farm to School Coordinator through the efforts of The Farmers Market and community volunteers. The free meal to all students, staff and parents celebrated local farmers, community partners, and the work of feeding each other. The Franklin

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2024 Kentucky Local Food Systems Summit

Author: Ashton Potter

Major Program: Local Food Systems

Relevance: The Food Connection hosted its sixth annual Kentucky Local Food Systems Summit on March 20, 2024. The Summit consisted of two keynote presentations and full day of workshops, networking, and conversations designed to bring together local food professionals and advocates who work on the front lines of growing our local food and farm economy. The goal of the Summit is to bring together local food systems practitioners from across Kentucky to share challenges, opportunities, best practic

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Cultivate Kentucky Partnership

Author: Ashton Potter

Major Program: Local Food Systems

Relevance: The Cultivate KY partnership is a collaborative initiative, spearheaded by The Food Connection, aimed at growing our specialty crop sector in Kentucky, with a particular emphasis on farm to institution supply chains. Our efforts are focused on produce growers, and specifically supporting producers’ adaptation to rapid changes in produce food safety regulation and auditing. Our partnership is composed of on and off campus partners from across the food and farm system includi

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Building a Kentucky Value Chain Collaborative

Author: Ashton Potter

Major Program: Local Food Systems

Relevance: The Kentucky Value Chain Collaborative was established in early 2023 by The Food Connection in an effort to build soft infrastructure capacity for providing tailored technical assistance to Kentucky farmers around accessing additional markets for their farm products. This project supports three full time Value Chain Coordinators whose primary goal is to increase demand for Kentucky farm foods among mid to large scale buyers and add to farm gate receipts for Kentucky farmers. The Food

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Metcalfe County Farmers Market

Author: Lynn Blankenship

Major Program: Local Food Systems

The problemEdmonton is the seat of Metcalfe County and has only two small grocery stores selling fresh produce.   The produce on offer at the grocery’s is often poor in quality, limited variety, and costly.  The educational program responseThe Metcalfe County Farmers Market (MCFM) was started in 2008 by the Metcalfe County Extension Agents for Family and Consumer Sciences and Agriculture Education in response to repeated requests from community members for access to purchasing lo

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Growing Fruit and Vegetables in a large school garden utilized by the school food service

Author: Glen Roberts

Major Program: Local Food Systems

The problemGrowing Fruit and Vegetables in a large school garden utilized by the school food serviceby Glen RobertsPlanning Unit: Wayne County CESMajor Program: Horticulture, CommercialCollaborators: Glen Roberts, ANR agent, Terry Bertram, ANR assistant, Danny Adams, KSU Small Farm Assistant, Justin Horton, FFA Adviser/VoAg instructor, Kathryn Tucker, School Food Service Director, Master Gardeners, VoAg and FCS students. Situation:  Today`s youth are unaware how their food is grow

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Lactobacillus-Fermentation At Home

Author: James Morgeson

Major Program: Local Food Systems

Lactobacillus-Fermentation At Home

Lactobacillus-fermentation programs were requested and taught not only to Washington County residents, but surrounding county participants and the Horticulture Agent even traveled (at the request of a Family and Consumer Sciences Agent) for over an hour to teach the art of lactobacillus-fermentation. Eager participants attended with curiosity and a desire to learn the age-old tradition of lactobacillus-fermentation. Participants learned the history, needs, and science behind lactobacillus-fermen

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Farmers' Market Growers Achieve PBPT Certifications

Author: Brian Jeffiers

Major Program: Local Food Systems

One of the major hurdles in promoting local produce markets is assuring customers that the products there are as safe as those in retail outlets. The produce best practices training (PBPT) is a curriculum to educate producers on proper handling of produce from the farm right up to the point of sale. PBPT is also a prerequisite for the food sampling certificate that allows vendors to provide samples to customers. To open these doors to farmers' market sellers, the ANR agent and program assist

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Expanding food access and supporting local businesses

Author: Adam Leonberger

Major Program: Local Food Systems

Many downtown Frankfort residents face difficulties in accessing fresh and high-quality produce, as the nearest grocery store is more than 3.5 miles away. To address this challenge, the Franklin County Farmer’s Market and Franklin County Cooperative Extension Service have collaborated to improve the food access for low-income households in Frankfort. The Farmer's Market has seen a remarkable growth in sales and customers, reaching over $610,000 from more than 60 local producers, a

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Seed Potato Giveaway

Author: Jennifer Palmer

Major Program: Local Food Systems

The problem access to healthy foods and first time gardeners in Jefferson County. This program was impactful to help citizens of Jefferson County grow food especially low income residents. The educational program response was overwhelming to the seed potato giveaway. The first giveaway was 800lb and they were gone within one day.  I was then able to arrange another 2,950 lbs of seed potatoes to be given away for planting.  The NEP growing guide https://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/

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Cooking School

Author: Garrard Coffey

Major Program: Local Food Systems

During the holiday season, we acknowledge the significance of cooking, nutrition, and food storage in this time of year. In London, KY, the Wilderness Trail Area organized a Holiday Cooking School. The event focused on educating participants in Food Safety & Preservation, featuring instruction from the UK Food Safety and Preservation specialist, Annhall Norris and Stuarto's Olive Oil company conducted food demonstrations which worked alongside the UK Curriculum "Savor the Flavor.&qu

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Acting Associate Dean & Director — Craig Wood, Ph.D.
S107 Ag. Science Center North
Lexington, KY 40546-0091
+1 (859) 257-4302

© 2024 University of Kentucky, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment