The Perry County Farm to School Task Force was formed in 2010 with goals of increasing access to local produce for students, providing nutrition education, and stimulating the local economy. In 2014, Perry County Schools served over 7,000 meals per day and spent 13% of its $1.4 million food budget on Kentucky foods. Barriers to local procurement included time, distribution challenges across the county's 10 schools, and regulatory requirements. The program overcame barriers by partnering with organizations and receiving grants to hire coordinators. In 2014, a variety of local foods were served, a farm field day educated students, and cooking lessons reached over 350 students. Perry County is committed to continuing Farm to School to provide healthy food, education, and

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.