KDA 

News release 

School districts throughout Kentucky will hold special events to celebrate Farm to School Month in October and raise awareness of the advantages of serving local foods to Kentucky school children.

“Farm to school helps Kentucky students get access to fresh, nutritious local foods that will help them to grow up strong and healthy,” Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said. “At the same time, farm to school enables farmers to tap into a local market for their products. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Program is committed to getting fresh, high-quality Kentucky Proud foods into our school systems. Our program is a national leader in the farm to school movement.” 

If you would like your school’s event to be recognized, contact the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) at ag.web@ky.gov or share on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and tag @kentuckyag.

The KDA’s Farm to School Program helps Kentucky school systems locate local foods to buy and serve to their students. The program runs the Junior Chef program, a statewide competition of high school culinary teams. Each “season” concludes with the state tournament in August at the Kentucky State Fair, where regional champions compete for scholarship opportunities and the coveted skillet trophy.

For the last two years, Kentucky has hosted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Southeast Region Junior Chef Competition in Louisville. 

During Farm to School Month, the USDA will conduct a Farm to School Census in all 50 states, four territories, and Washington, D.C. USDA periodically conducts a Farm to School Census to measure activities and trends in the farm to school movement. The KDA encourages local school food authorities to complete the census so Kentucky can be well represented. The deadline to complete and submit the census is Nov. 4. For more information, contact your USDA Farm to School Regional Lead or send an email to farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov.