Chefs to show how to get fresh, healthy, local food in Boyle, Clark, Grayson, Harlan, Martin, Morgan, Oldham, Pike county schools

image: nkyhealth.org

Chefs will help eight Kentucky schools learn to incorporate fresh, local foods in their menus as part of a "Chefs in Schools Collaborative" pilot project, according to a news release from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

 "School food service workers want to serve healthy, delicious meals to Kentucky children, and these projects will help them do that," Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said in the release. "These investments will help the next generation of Kentuckians grow up healthy and strong, and they also will teach them to value farmers and local food systems as a way of life."

The project will educate food service employees on how to incorporate fresh, local foods into their menus, help them develop new recipes that include local foods and provide opportunities for local farmers to engage with the staff and students. 

The pilot program will run from February through May and is led by the Agriculture Department's Farm to School Program in partnership with the Community Farm Alliance and the National Farm to School Network. 

The National Farm to School Network will use a grant from Seed Change to support the program in Boyle, Clark, Grayson, and Oldham counties. The Community Farm Alliance will use funding from the Central Appalachian Network to support the program in Harlan, Martin, Morgan, and Pike counties.