Perry County Schools: Farm to School Powerpoint

1. Perry County Schools
Farm to School
Cafeteria-Classroom-Community

2. Why Farm to School?
Perry County Farm to School Task Force was formed in
2010 with the following goals:
 Increase access to fresh, locally grown produce to students
 Provide classroom education on sound nutrition practices,
food systems, and agricultural sustainability
 Stimulate community-wide interest in school nutrition,
local food systems, and using agriculture as a means to
economic development
 Encourage increased consumption of fruits and vegetables
 Ultimately improve the health of Perry County citizens
 Decrease prevalence of chronic diseases such as obesity and
diabetes.
 Prevent morbidity and early mortality.

3. Schools Open a New
Market for Producers
In 2014, Perry County Schools served:
• 3612 lunches
• 2708 breakfasts
• 850 suppers
Our food budget is ~1.4 million
• In 2014, 13% our food dollars were spent within
Kentucky ranking Perry County 7th in the state
USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Grant
• Seven of our schools are offered fresh fruits and
vegetables for snacks throughout the day

4. Barriers
Time
 Purchasing from multiple local sources involves more
paperwork and takes more time finding local farmers
Distribution
 Perry County has 10 schools
 The two farthest schools are 108 miles apart
 Delivering to each school is not feasible when
delivering a single product at a time
Procurement Procedures
 USDA and State regulations

5. How to Deal with Barriers
Seek Help!
 Partnering with community organizations
 The Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, UK
Extension Agency, Eastern Kentucky University, and
many more.
 Perry County Schools applied for and received a
USDA planning grant for 1 year
 Able to hire two project interns (Karyn Knecht and Jason
Brashear) and an AmeriCorps VISTA (Rachel
Ackerman) to work full time on the Farm to School
program.

6. • In 2014, locally grown apples, corn,
tomatoes, broccoli, strawberries, green beans,
watermelon, and milk were served in all 10
cafeterias
• A Farm Field Day was held at Holliday
Farms, were 320 second and third graders
rotated through stations learning about grain,
vegetable, livestock, dairy, chicken/egg, and
bees/pollination.
• In class cooking and nutrition education took
place around the county, reaching 364
elementary students.
• Chef Jim Whaley visited a Perry County
kitchen to share his tricks with the cooks when
cooking with fresh, local ingredients
Farm to School
2014

7. Moving Forward
 Perry County is committed to continuing Farm to
School in order to:
 Provide fresh, great tasting food to students so they
are well nourished and ready to learn.
 Make students aware of where their food comes from
and why fresh food is important to their health.
 Improve the community and local economy by
providing a market for Kentucky farmers.