Kentucky Farmers Feeding Kentucky Children

With 171 school districts in Kentucky serving over 647,000 K-12 students (Kentucky Department of Education, https://education.ky.gov/comm/edfacts, 6/30/2022) schools represent a tremendous market opportunity for Kentucky producers.  The purchase of food from local producers would strengthen local economies, encourage sense of community, and make quality food available to all youth.  Yet, conversations with both producers and school food service directors, conducted by U.K Nutrition Education Program personnel, revealed a large number of barriers to schools purchasing local food.  

To address these barriers, the UK Nutrition Education Program partnered with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture Farm to School Program to develop and release the Kentucky Farm to School Hub, https://www.kyfarmtoschool.com/.   The Hub is a free website designed to:

1. Help producers and school food service purchasers locate one another and communicate effectively
2. Provide reliable information and resources to both producers and school food service purchasers, and
3. Increase the amount of Kentucky grown and produced foods on school lunch trays.

Both producers and purchasers are able to register their organizations and list contact information, along with products and services they are seeking or able to provide.  Registrants can search for one another geographically or by product or service.   The Hub can also be used to access reliable information about selling/purchasing, processing, equipment sharing, funding sources, marketing, preparation, and other resources.  

The Farm to School Hub was released during the 2022 program year.  A marketing strategy and training plan are being implemented.  To date, 56 schools and 20 producers have registered.