Hospital association, state Department of Agriculture start 'Food is Medicine' effort to get more local food into Kentucky hospitals

Logo of the program

Kentucky Health News

The Kentucky Hospital Association and the state Department of Agriculture have started an effort to get more local food into Kentucky hospitals.

"A recent survey completed by representatives of 50 hospital systems across the state found that only about 2 percent of the hospital’s budget is spent on local food," a department news release said. "The overall average percentage of local food being served at these same hospitals was 15 percent."

In their “Food is Medicine” campaign, the department, KHA, eight health systems and other organizations "will study how hospitals can play a key role in prescribing food as medicine to patients by creating more access to healthier and local foods," the release said. They will:
· Look at the food a hospital is serving to patients;
· Create partnerships between hospitals and local farmers;
· Connect patients with resources to a consistent healthy food resource;

· Reach out to patients who need a special diet, such as diabetes patients, and who could benefit from having a resource to fresh food.

“Access to nutritious food is critical to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Commissioner Shell said. “Advocating that connection between food and health is essential to meeting the goal of less chronic disease and longer lifespans. But it’s more than a message about choosing the right foods, it’s also a message about expanding our food distribution networks within the agriculture industry.”

KHA President and CEO Nancy Galvangni said, "Kentucky’s hospitals work every day to improve the health of our citizens and this new collaboration between KHA and the Department of Agriculture will elevate ways in which hospitals throughout Kentucky can address the social drivers of health facing our commonwealth.”

Hollie Harris, president and CEO of Appalachian Regional Healthcare, said "As the largest provider of care in southeastern Kentucky, our responsibility goes beyond treating illness. We want to help people live healthier lives, and that starts with access to healthy foods. . . . We can create partnerships to address our state’s troubling health statistics and make fresh, locally grown foods more available in our communities."

Foundation says its 6-year, 7-county effort to help communities tackle health issues can be a model for the rest of the state

Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky map of recently finished "Investing in Kentucky's Future" program

If more Kentucky communities tackled their health issues as communities, the overall health of the state could be improved. That's one lesson of a six-year program that the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky recently completed in seven counties.

The "Investing in Kentucky's Future" initiative focused on children. It "improved student eating habits, increased youth physical activity, trained teachers to support students experiencing trauma, and increased youth resilience," the foundation said in a report on the program, which reached nearly 13,000 students in 28 participating schools.

It said the initiative "strengthened cross-sector coalitions" in the seven counties and "led to the adoption of 38 local ordinances and policies to help sustain the improvements and promote health equity long-term." Looking ahead, it "has prompted the foundation to expand its work in obesity prevention and childhood trauma interventions."

For example, in May, the foundation announced a $200,000 grant in Russell and surrounding counties to address childhood trauma in a rural setting, building on lessons from a Jefferson County program that was part of the initiative.

The overall goal of the $2.4 million initiative was to reduce school-aged children's risk of developing chronic diseases later in life. The communities contributed $1.7 million in matching funds, as well as countless volunteer hours by local citizens.

"Health is something that people don't typically recognize as a community undertaking, and this initiative aimed to transform that thinking and set in motion a series of changes that will lead to healthier, more productive adults throughout each participating Kentucky county," foundation president and CEO Ben Chandler said. "We're sharing what's been learned so other Kentucky communities can replicate these achievements."

An event of the Clinton County Healthy Hometown Coalition

Six of the participating communities (Breathitt, Clinton, Grant, McLean, McCracken and Perry counties) chose childhood obesity prevention as their issue. Jefferson County focused on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and building resilience in children who have faced trauma.

Both issues are complex, and influenced by a variety of factors, so they require involvement by various sectors of the community, working in a coalition, the foundation said. With its report, the foundation released videos on obesity prevention and ACEs to help other Kentucky communities.

"Participants told us that identifying a local champion and engaging the school system were critical to success in each of the counties," Chandler said. "But by far the most decisive factor was ensuring that the local health coalition includes multiple members from a broad range of community organizations: schools, hospitals, elected officials, youth groups, and businesses. It takes more time to get everyone aligned but the resulting collaboration makes all the difference in creating long-term change to improve health."

The grant "gave us an opportunity to do something big and to really make an impact and we've done that," Marsha Bach, a member of the Grant County coalition, Fitness for Life Around Grant County (FFLAG) and a health promotion manager with the Northern Kentucky Health Department, says in the obesity video.

Each grant included a one-year planning phase in which the foundation provided training and technical assistance for development of a business plan. This made the program more accessible to small communities with fewer resources, said Amalia Mendoza, senior program officer at the foundation, who developed and oversaw the program.

Among the successes the foundation listed were:

• New policies expand physical education in middle school, require future streets to be usable by walkers and cyclers, allow school fitness equipment to be used by the community after school, and make healthier foods available in schools and park concession stands.
• New facilities include parks, fitness equipment, sidewalks and walking paths, playgrounds, filtered drinking water fountains, community trails and standing desks in schools.
• Many communities leveraged the Foundation grant to secure additional funding. For example, the Purchase Area Health Connections-Paducah Chapter secured another $400,000 Rotary Club grant to build a playground at the health park developed with foundation funding, and then another $500,000 donation to build a second phase of the park; sidewalks to school in Grant County will be part of trail system funded by a follow-up grant from another foundation.
• More than 90 percent of students had increased physical activity and improved nutrition, from such measures as classroom movement activities and standing desks; events such as fun runs, walking and biking programs, and the Annual Nutrition Fair created by the Partnership for a Healthy McLean County; a "Fitness Buddies" program of the Clinton County Healthy Hometown Coalition, in which high-school students helped third and fourth graders with intense physical activity; elimination of deep fryers in school cafeterias; installation of filtered drinking water fountains; and work with farmers to get more fresh produce to students.
• All six coalitions began or expanded student food programs over the weekends or the summers. Most students reported that school was the only place they got fruits and vegetables. Offering fresh produce at snack time "appears to be a successful strategy" to increase consumption, the report found.

Farmers' market in Columbia expects to serve 2,500 children at Hungry Kids Café on Saturdays this summer

Kasey Blue “KB” Kessler, Emma Burton, and sisters Kennedy and Cadence Booth, inspect tomatoes at the D&D Longview Angus booth at the farmers' market. (Kentucky Living photo by Joe Imel)

The farmers' market in Columbia has created a Hungry Kids' Cafe that expects to serve more than 2,500 meals on Saturdays this summer, Sharon Burton reports for Kentucky Living magazine, published by the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives.

"The vision of serving free breakfast and lunch to children came about three years ago when market coordinators noticed two little boys who frequented the market and sampled all the free food vendors made available," Burton reports. "They wondered if the boys had food on other days when the market wasn’t open."

“We have so many kids who really rely on school meals during the year,” says café coordinator Lois Cunningham told Burton. “We would see these kids who would walk around and they couldn’t buy anything.”

Burton reports, "Volunteers started out working with federal programs, but quickly learned they had their own ideas and began asking the local community to help fund the café. Now, the program relies completely on local donations." This year the café got its new name and "went from a mobile trailer to a permanent building in the corner of a city parking lot where the market is held," at the corner of Campbellsville and Merchant streets from 8 to 1 on Saturdays and 1 to 5 on Wednesdays.

The market participates in the federal nutrition programs for seniors, mothers and children, and offers "Kids Bucks," giving children $4 in coupons to buy fruits or vegetables. Market coordinator Donna Jones says the market is offering several social functions this year, including two days of “Meet the Candidates” in local elections.

Burton, editor and publisher of the Adair County Community Voice and The Farmer's Pride, the statewide agricultural newspaper, reports that the market "is as much an entertainment destination as it is a place to find fresh food. It’s been compared by some with markets in large metropolitan areas because of its variety and atmosphere. . . . The market is the center of social gatherings during the summer, even for young marketgoers."

Information on farmers' markets in Kentucky is at www.kyagr.com/marketing/farmers-market.html. Fresh produce and other foods are also available at Kentucky Certified Roadside Farm Markets; information on them is at www.kyfb.com/federation/markets.

Introduction to adult food can be a big turning point in a child's nutritional health; program in 22 counties helps poor get local food

By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News

Taste preferences are established early, and that's why those early bites of ice cream matter.
A program that helps low-income families who use food-assistance programs to get locally produced food gets additional funding.
A group in Louisville is working on opening a community-owned grocery store.

These were just some of the topics discussed during the July 12 "Food in Kentucky" webinar, sponsored by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.

Ana Chang, founder of Concept Hatchery, a California consultancy, opened the webinar with findings from her company's research with the 1,000 Days project, which looks at the nutritional health of mothers and their children during the 1,000 days from pregnancy to a child's second birthday.

Chang said her research involved 19 mothers from Kentucky, California and Mississippi, with varying levels of income levels. The study looked at what the children ate and how the mothers decided what to feed them, through food journals and in-person evaluations during meal and snacks.

All of the children started out on equal footing because they were all fed either formula or breast milk, Chang said, but the nutritional value of their food changed quickly when they started eating adult food.

"The first taste of food that babies get are really often what the family eats; they are not specialized for babies. And so the taste preferences are established really early. Even as young as four months or younger, babies might be given a finger that's been dipped in soup that the family is having, or a lick of ice cream," she said. "So how well that family ate, that's how well that baby is going to eat as it starts growing up."

Chang noted that one of the Kentucky families in the study was part of a diabetes-prevention program that provided fresh produce to the whole family, even though only one family member had been diagnosed with the disease. "That is the kind of intervention that we need to start thinking about," she said, "because once food is brought into a family kitchen, it becomes available for everybody."

Chang noted some nutrition challenges for the low-income families in the study, including: lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables, transportation barriers, lack of a safe place to store foods, and a lack of a cooking space. She said almost every family in the study struggled with food bounty and scarcity issues which were tied to the arrival of their paychecks and food stamps.

Martin Richards, executive director of the Community Farm Alliance, said his 32-year-old group focuses on agriculture and family farming policy because policy can affect the most people, but also supports non-legislative initiatives that reinforces the bills they are trying to pass.

Click on the image to view a larger version.

One of those projects is Kentucky Double Dollars, a program that allows low-income families who use food-assistance programs to double their purchasing power at participating farmers' markets and retail stores in 22 Kentucky counties.

The program allows those on food stamps (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or the Women, Infants and Children program to double the value of their SNAP or WIC dollars to buy Kentucky-grown produce, meats, eggs and dairy products. The double dollars program is also available to seniors who are part of the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program for Kentucky-grown produce only.

"We saw the huge amount of money that comes into Kentucky from federal food nutrition programs and we saw this as a way to get that money to support local and regional food systems," Richards said, adding that the program recently received an additional $1.4 million from federal, state and private-sector funding to help sustain it. (The program was formerly called "Double Dollars," but recently changed its name to Kentucky Double Dollars after it merged with the Bluegrass Farm to Table and the "Bluegrass Double Dollar" programs in Lexington.)

This season, 27 Kentucky farmers’ markets, 12 Fresh Stop Markets in Lexington and Louisville, and Good Foods Co-op in Lexington and Lexington Market East End, are participating in Kentucky Double Dollars.

Other CFA initiatives include a program that gives children vouchers to use at participating farmers' markets; a program that allows health-care providers to prescribe fruits and vegetables as part of a treatment plan; a program that provides food to children in the summer; a walking program that links farmers' market vouchers to community exercise goals; a school-based program that encourages students to drink water; and healthy cooking classes.

The CFA also offers technical and financial support through a 50-50 cost-sharing arrangement to communities that want to create a farmers' market. "When a farmers' market has somebody dedicated to help making that market run, even if it is just part time and seasonal, it makes a huge difference to that market," Richards said.

In another part of the webinar, Cassia Herron of the Louisville Food Co-op said her group is working to open a community-owned grocery store in one or more of the neighborhoods in Louisville's urban core. She said this group is working to hire a project manager who will lead and launch a capital campaign for this project, which they hope will come to fruition within the next two years.

Teacher learns food literacy is more than teaching about healthy food; it's also about geographic and socioeconomic challenges

Cooking Club, part of Fern Creek's Food
Literacy class (Photo by Joe Franzen)

A "food literacy" class that began as a way to teach high-school students to eat healthier has turned into a social-justice exploration through the shared language of food preparation and eating, Joe Franzen writes in a "Classroom Connection" piece for The Courier-Journal.

Franzen, a food and sustainability educator at Fern Creek High School in Jefferson County, said he showed up to his first food-literacy class at FCHS with plans to teach about "healthy" foods, new and improved cooking techniques and how to grow a garden.

"My students balked," he wrote, saying they pushed back on his curriculum with real-world issues that screamed of the geographic and socioeconomic realities that often segregate people into those who can afford to eat "healthy" and have access to fresh, healthy foods and those who can't and don't.

"They complained of not having the tools to cook at home or the ability to purchase ingredients on a budget.They explained how apartments don’t have yards to dig up.They talked about how junk food tastes good," he wrote.

So Franzen said he shifted the focus of the class, realizing that it would have to deal with the "dynamic realities" of his students.

Franzen noted that one of the first changes he implemented was to ask his students: "What is your food reality? What is your definition of 'good' food? What are the recipes that your family values? What are the boundaries that you face in eating well?"

Which, he said, led to "student-written food narratives, lessons in food discourse and debate, class cookbooks, 30-student potlucks, and conversations about what people deserve, what is just and right -- all while using our city as a classroom, textbook, and laboratory to explore and critically engage."

And all of this led to "talking about socioeconomic status, income inequality, privilege, race, religion, gender, and ethnicity," he wrote. "All I started out wanting to do was teach a couple of recipes, encourage less soda consumption, and show how to put a plant in a hole."

Franzen said he was "glad that students sent back the first version of 'food literacy' and that the new curriculum now formally "looks like Food Lit., a food-themed pre-AP English course, Cooking Club, Food Sociology, Global Issues, and Environmental Club."

"Through this process, I realized what good teaching should be: responding to the needs and curiosities of the students to help them critically engage and question the world in a way that allows them to improve themselves and the community around them," he wrote.

In conclusion, Franzen challenged all of us to find common ground around the table, to build a relationship over sharing a meal, and "to engage the world around us in a meaningful, sustaining, and compassionate way," and to come back for seconds.

He wrote: Food literacy "isn’t just about eating “healthy” or learning to cook, it is about building community and building resiliency within ourselves and together during such divisive times."

Visiting chef at Harlan County High helps incorporate fresh, local foods and flavors into menus; 1 of 8 Ky. districts in program

image: foodtank.com

The "Chefs in Schools Collaborative" project, which helps school cooks learn how to incorporate fresh, local foods in their menus, is up and running at Harlan County High School, reports WYMT-TV.

"Fresh ingredients are always important to a cook," Judy Gurnee, visiting chef through March, told the Hazard station. "We like to work with the closest available products that we can get ... the finest quality."

Harlan County is one of eight Kentucky school districts in the program. Its cooks asked the visiting chef to help them better use spices on the local vegetables, so that students, whom they described as their "customers," would eat them.

"I'm for anything that's going to get the children to eat," Kitchen Manager Jan Hicks told WYMT. "That's what we are here for."

Making sure the kids eat their school lunch is especially important because for some, it is the only meal they get a day, WYMT reports.

"Our kids, one in four are homeless," Director of Food Service Jack Miniard said. "That means that they are living with a grandparent or they are living with some other family member ... so, this may be the only meal that they get a day."

The program is led by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's Farm to School Program in partnership with the Community Farm Alliance and the National Farm to School Network. Participating school districts are in Boyle, Clark, Grayson, Oldham, Harlan, Martin, Morgan, and Pike counties.

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.

Nationally and statewide, farm-to-school program is a success

With approximately 80 Kentucky school districts participating in the Farm to School program, many of them are finding special ways to celebrate National Farm to School Month, with much to celebrate, as a preliminary U.S. Department of Agricuture report finds that schools that participate in Farm to School programs show an increase in the number of school meals sold, an increase in the consumption of healthier foods and decreases in plate waste.

“By investing in Farm to School not only will the next generation be healthier but they will be more informed consumers who value the farmer and support their local food system, not as a novelty but as a way of life," Tina Garland, procedures division coordinator for the Kentucky Farm to School program, said in a telephone interview.

The Jefferson County Public Schools are celebrating National Farm to School Month with its cafeterias serving a menu full of locally grown food at district elementary, middle and high schools on Oct. 23 and 24, Ja'nel Johnson reports for WFPL Radio.

JCPS began its farm-to-school initiative about eight years ago with apples from a farm in Indiana, but has since grown to include seven local farmers in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee, Johnson reports.

The district's goal is for 10 percent of its produce to be locally grown, Dan Ellnor, manager of the Nutrition Service Center at JCPS, told Johnson, explaining that because they serve 112,000 meals a day, it is difficult to incorporate locally grown produce into every meal.

"Last year, 3 percent of the district’s produce came from local farmers, and JCPS spent $124,000 on local produce. So far this year, $131,000 has been spent on local foods," Johnson writes.

Ellnor told Johnson that this program helps teach students where their food comes from, which is part of the program's mission.

“There are kids, honestly, who don’t know that ketchup comes from a tomato,” he said.

More schools than ever are participating

Although the farm-to-school initiative has been around for many years, the national Farm to School Grant Program was created more recently through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 to help eligible schools implement programs to improve their access to local foods. To date, the grant program has funded 221 farm to school projects, totaling $15.1 million, according to its website.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has been the recipient of a USDA Farm to School support service grants, which allowed them to re-grant 11, $5,000 mini-grants across the state to either help develop new farm-to-school programs or to enhance existing programs, according to Garland.

"Farm to school is one of many tactics and resources that USDA makes available to help schools successfully serve healthier meals to kids," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. "Farm to school partnerships have a proven track record of encouraging kids to try, like and eat more healthy foods and creating new market opportunities for the farmers that grow them."

Preliminary results from from USDA's Farm to School census found that 17 percent of school districts that participate have reduced plate waste; 28 percent are more accepting of healthier school meals; 17 percent have increased participation in school meals; 21 percent have lowered the school meal program costs; and 39 percent have more support from parents and their community for healthier school meals.

The preliminary report also found that since the inception of the grant program two years ago, there has been a 55 percent increase in the local purchase of foods, to $598.4 million in 2013-14 from $385.8 million in 2011-12.

JCPS's goals of increasing its share of locally grown produce to 10 percent fits with the preliminary census findings that found almost half of its respondents said they planned to increase their local food purchases in the coming years.

Nationwide, more than 42,000 schools have farm-to-schools programs,according to the release.

According to the latest official data, in 2011-12 Kentucky schools spent $1.6 million on local foods, which involved 60 school districts and approximately 702 schools, according to Garland. To date, Garland said this number has increased to approximately 80 school districts and over 200 farmers participating in the Kentucky Farm to School program.

Kentucky was also one of three states to receive a National Farm to School Network Seed Change pilot grant, made possible through a generous donation from the Walmart Foundation, that allowed them to distribute 20, $5,000 mini-grants across the state to create or support Farm to School programs, according to Garland, noting that this is a different program than the Farm to School Grant Program.

Event at UK library features discussion of Kentucky food traditions, how they are changing and how to capitalize on them

Story and photo by Melissa Landon
Kentucky Health News

Local food experts gathered at the University of Kentucky April 9 to discuss how Kentucky food tradition is changing and how to develop local food culture through businesses and other means.

"From Plows to Plates: A Journey Through Kentucky Foodways" was an event sponsored by the UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center. It included a panel discussion, book signings by local food authors and food samples. Panelists included anthropology professor John van Willigen, author of Kentucky's Cookbook Heritage: 200 Years of Southern Cuisine and Culture; Ouita Michel of Midway, chef and proprietor of several restaurants; Tiffany Thompson, horticulturist and manager of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment's Community Supported Agriculture program; and Kristy Yowell, marketing manager of the Good Foods Co-Op in Lexington.

"I want to elevate Kentucky food culture way above restaurants," Michel said. "Restaurants are not food culture." She said Kentucky is known for its chain restaurants, such as Kentucky Fried Chicken, but she wants to focus on helping young chefs and small businesses succeed.

Emma Yetter talks about vegetables via community supported agriculture.

Yowell said, "We want to make affordable, healthy food for everyone. That shouldn't be a privilege."

Thompson said Kentucky's history has had a lot to do with tobacco, which is becoming less prominent. He said community supported agriculture, in which local residents agree to buy produce in advance, has much potential. "What can Kentucky agriculture do to positively influence health? Make more vegetables! CSA is growing, and I'm really excited about it."

The college's CSA Vegetable Program allows people to sign up to receive weekly seasonal vegetables throughout the spring, summer and fall. It costs $19 per week for the smallest "share" of vegetables, which is enough for a single person or a couple, said Emma Yetter, who works events and does deliveries for the program.

Associate Dean of Libraries Deirdre A. Scaggs, author of The Historic Kentucky Kitchen, said at the event that her inspiration for the book came from working in the Special Collections Research Center. She found old recipes, many of which were hand-written, and decided to try them out. She collected over 100 recipes, tested them and modified some of the instructions so a modern audience could understand them.

At roundtable on food and agriculture, Prince Charles says we need to reconnect with the food system and nature, keep stock

Prince Charles "called for urgent restructuring of local and global economies to save humanity from itself" in a whirlwind visit to Louisville on Friday, James Bruggers reports for The Courier-Journal.

In addition to a speech at the Cathedral of the Assumption, the heir to the British throne briefly participated in a roundtable on health and the environment and a similar gathering about food and agriculture, at which he said people need to become "intimately acquainted again with the food system and nature," as The Courier-Journal put it.

"I am very keen on connecting people to school gardens," he said, "and encouraging them to keep their own chickens and the occasional pig." Here's The C-J's raw video from the roundtable:

Wendell and Mary Berry welcome Prince Charles and wife to Louisville, where prince will focus on local food and sustainability

In honor of a royal visit on Friday to Louisville by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who will be highlighting issues of sustainability and local food, renowned farmer-author-poet-philosopher Wendell Berry and his daughter Mary Berry, executive director of The Berry Center in New Castle, have written a welcome letter, published in The Courier-Journal. It begins:

Sir,

Your presence among us honors us. We have taken courage from your courage in opposing those who destroy for short-term profit the substance, health, and beauty of this world, which we did not make and cannot conserve except in obedience to its natural laws and to the divine imperative of human stewardship.

You will not be surprised to learn that in Kentucky, as in much of the world, the ways of conserving the land, the water, and the air are repeatedly blocked by the combination of corporate wealth, political connivance, academic complacency, and a deficit of hope where hope is most needed.

Here as elsewhere, the damages done by surface mining are severe, permanent, and largely unrestrained; the loss of land to "development" is, arithmetically, unsustainable; our use of our forests is for the most part ecologically unsound; our farmlands are eroding under an increasing burden of annual grain crops; those lands are priced beyond the reach of aspiring small farmers; and our streams are everywhere degraded by chemical and other pollutants.

But I believe you will be unsurprised also to learn that in Kentucky, as in places similarly exploited and threatened all over the world, there is a growing number of people and groups of people competently aware of, and determinedly opposed to, the diminishment of the natural health and beauty of our state and our world. We are proud to welcome you into the company of friends and allies who, like you, are unrestingly committed to the work of ecological sense and sanity. (Read more)

Prince Charles to keynote Louisville health and food symposium

Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles

Prince Charles of the United Kingdom will keynote a health symposium in Louisville March 20.

The prince of Wales and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, duchess of Cornwall, "will highlight the work being done by members of the local community and charitable organizations to protect, preserve and promote the health and well-being of the people of Louisville through community cohesion, clean air and food literacy initiatives," says a release on his site.

The release says the prince will speak "to an audience of health practitioners, business, faith and community leaders about links between health and the natural environment. Highlighting the same theme, the duchess will visit a food literacy project for young people at a local farm. The project also offers young people an opportunity to experience life on a farm in order to help increase their knowledge of the connection between food and farming."

The speech could include some of the same points that Charles made in a speech at the Future for Food Conference at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in 2011, where he said, "We will have to develop much more sustainable, or durable forms of food production,  because the way we have done things up to now are no longer as viable as they once appeared to be."

Kirby Adams of The Courier-Journal reports that the symposium will be held by the Institute for Healthy Air, Water and Soil, chaired by Christina Lee "Christy" Brown of Louisville, who is one of four board members of the England-based Sustainable Food Trust. Her son, Owsley Brown III, is one of three board members of the Sustainable Food Alliance, the trust's U.S. partner.

Nico Hines of The Daily Beast reports that the Kentucky visit is being organized with the help of Gov. Steve Beshear, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer (who has been active in food issues) and the Owsley Brown Charitable Foundation, named for Christy Brown's late husband, the former chairman of distiller Brown-Forman Corp. Her son-in-law, Matthew Barzun, "is the U.S. ambassador in London," Hines notes.

Hines's story is largely unfavorable. It begins, "Prince Charles is taking his unusual views on health, previously described as 'witchcraft' and 'quackery,' to the United States." Those descriptions came from a professor at the University of Exeter and the British Medical Association, which said in 2010, "Homeopathy is witchcraft."

When the prince became BMA president in 1982, Hines reports, "He advocated a radical overhaul of the medical system in favor of alternative therapies which he said had been successfully practiced for centuries by faith healers using the patient’s 'physical and social environment, as well as his relation to the cosmos.' Rather than laugh off the private views of their new figurehead, the doctors ordered a full inquiry into the efficacy of alternative medicine. After three years and 600 submissions, it concluded any support for the use of these therapies was purely 'unscientific'. . . . Prince Charles has remained resolute in his controversial beliefs." Some commenters on the story defend him.

The future king's Louisville stop will come on the fourth and last day of an American tour that will include "stops at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, site of the Lincoln Cottage, where it is believed Abraham Lincoln wrote the last draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. The royals will also visit Mount Vernon, home of George Washington, and the National Archives to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta," The Courier-Journal reports.

Comer encourages Kentucky schools to serve fresh local foods on 'Farm Fresh Fridays'

State Agriculture Commissioner James Comer wants Kentucky schools to offer fresh, local foods for students on Farm Fresh Fridays. The program will launch with Farm to School Month in October, according to a Department of Agriculture press release.

School food-service directors have been asked to provide at least one Kentucky Proud fruit or vegetable each month. Students will be encouraged to talk about their Farm Fresh Fridays activities through social media, and hopefully will learn about local food through the program.

"Serving fresh local foods to our school children will provide them the nourishment they need to grow up strong and healthy," Comer said. "It also will provide educators a way to teach them about where their foods comes from. At the same time, buying farm-fresh foods helps local farmers make a living."

During the 2011-2012 school year, the Farm to School Program distributed local foods in about 702 schools to approximately 364,000 children. To read more about the program, go to www.kyagr.com or contact Tina Garland at 502-382-7505.

Lexington preschool becomes Kentucky's first with a farm-to-school food program

About 20 years from now, today's preschoolers will be purchasing and preparing their own food. What if they spent 13 years in an educational setting that taught farm-to-school practices? Children who represent the next generation would learn not only to eat healthy food but also to support local food systems, state Farm to School Program coordinator Tina Garland told Cerise Bouchard of Lexington Family Magazine.

This year, Growing Together Preschool in Lexington became the first Farm to Preschool program facilitated by the state Department of Agriculture. Bouchard returned to GTP in July 2013 as the executive director with the goal of improving the menu by working with a farm to provide community-supported agriculture.

When Bouchard told Garland about her idea, Garland connected her with Lazy Eight Stock Farm and Carla Bauman, who told the magazine, "I am excited about being part of a project that encourages young children to like eating fresh fruits and vegetables while their food preferences are still forming." Bauman said the the GTP project also will give the students' families weekly access to fresh, local, organic produce.

Childhood obesity rates in Kentucky are very high, and many children eat most of their meals in school, Bouchard writes. Instead of exacerbating the problem, schools have an opportunity to improve the health of children. GTP's focus has always been on quality improvement initiatives, and "Implementation of the Farm to School program is simply the next step to ensuring that we are making the best decisions to improve and support the development of the whole child," Bouchard writes.

Statewide forum on community efforts to promote children's health will be held in Northern Kentucky Monday, Sept. 16

"The goal is simple, the challenge difficult – how to ensure that the current generation of children in Kentucky grows up healthier than their parents. A free one-day conference coming up in Erlanger will attempt to draw engaged civic leaders into that effort," veteran Kentucky broadcaster Greg Stotelmyer reports for Public News Service.

Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, main sponsor of the forum, told Stotlemyer that its title, "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids," sends the message that everyone has a role to play in improving health, “whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives, whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce, whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps.”

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., who will be a headline speaker at the forum, told Stotlemyer it takes leadership and vision to grow community health. “The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he said. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits.” Cohen said a study in which his organization was involved found that for every $1 spent on community prevention of health problems, $6 could be saved. (Read more or listen)

Other speakers include David Jones Jr., member of the Jefferson County school board and former chairman of the Humana Inc. board of directors; and Daniel Hatcher, healthy out-of-school time adviser at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The conference is the latest of the foundation's annual Howard L. Bost Memorial Health Policy Forums, and is free to the public. For more information, click here. For a conference agenda, go here. To register, here.

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., will be a headliner at the forum.

He says it takes leadership and vision to grow community health.

"The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he explains. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits."

Cohen says a study his organization was involved in found that, for every dollar spent on community prevention of health problems, six dollars could be saved.

The conference takes place September 16 and is free to attend. Register online, on the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky website.

Susan Zepada, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, says it's hard work to change behaviors and it isn't a top-down effort – everyone has a role to play. Thus, the forum's title – "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids."

"Whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives,” Zepada says. “Whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce. Whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps."

Zepada adds some Kentuckians' habits around eating, smoking, drinking and exercise have long contributed to the chronic health problems faced by the state.

Cohen says community health is also a good financial investment for business.

"We've seen businesses right now spend $73 billion on preventable, chronic diseases and I underline 'preventable,'" he says.
- See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-09-05/health-issues/can-ky-raise-a-healthier-next-generation/a34165-1#sthash.IOtVDcVD.dpufThe goal is simple, the challenge difficult – how to ensure that the current generation of children in Kentucky grows up healthier than their parents. 

A free one-day conference coming up in Erlanger will attempt to draw engaged civic leaders into that effort.

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., will be a headliner at the forum.

He says it takes leadership and vision to grow community health.

"The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he explains. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits."

Cohen says a study his organization was involved in found that, for every dollar spent on community prevention of health problems, six dollars could be saved.

The conference takes place September 16 and is free to attend. Register online, on the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky website.

Susan Zepada, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, says it's hard work to change behaviors and it isn't a top-down effort – everyone has a role to play. Thus, the forum's title – "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids."

"Whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives,” Zepada says. “Whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce. Whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps."

Zepada adds some Kentuckians' habits around eating, smoking, drinking and exercise have long contributed to the chronic health problems faced by the state.

Cohen says community health is also a good financial investment for business.

"We've seen businesses right now spend $73 billion on preventable, chronic diseases and I underline 'preventable,'" he says.
- See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-09-05/health-issues/can-ky-raise-a-healthier-next-generation/a34165-1#sthash.IOtVDcVD.dpufThe goal is simple, the challenge difficult – how to ensure that the current generation of children in Kentucky grows up healthier than their parents. 

A free one-day conference coming up in Erlanger will attempt to draw engaged civic leaders into that effort.

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., will be a headliner at the forum.

He says it takes leadership and vision to grow community health.

"The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he explains. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits."

Cohen says a study his organization was involved in found that, for every dollar spent on community prevention of health problems, six dollars could be saved.

The conference takes place September 16 and is free to attend. Register online, on the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky website.

Susan Zepada, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, says it's hard work to change behaviors and it isn't a top-down effort – everyone has a role to play. Thus, the forum's title – "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids."

"Whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives,” Zepada says. “Whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce. Whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps."

Zepada adds some Kentuckians' habits around eating, smoking, drinking and exercise have long contributed to the chronic health problems faced by the state.

Cohen says community health is also a good financial investment for business.

"We've seen businesses right now spend $73 billion on preventable, chronic diseases and I underline 'preventable,'" he says.
- See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-09-05/health-issues/can-ky-raise-a-healthier-next-generation/a34165-1#sthash.IOtVDcVD.dpufThe goal is simple, the challenge difficult – how to ensure that the current generation of children in Kentucky grows up healthier than their parents. 

A free one-day conference coming up in Erlanger will attempt to draw engaged civic leaders into that effort.

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., will be a headliner at the forum.

He says it takes leadership and vision to grow community health.

"The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he explains. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits."

Cohen says a study his organization was involved in found that, for every dollar spent on community prevention of health problems, six dollars could be saved.

The conference takes place September 16 and is free to attend. Register online, on the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky website.

Susan Zepada, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, says it's hard work to change behaviors and it isn't a top-down effort – everyone has a role to play. Thus, the forum's title – "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids."

"Whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives,” Zepada says. “Whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce. Whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps."

Zepada adds some Kentuckians' habits around eating, smoking, drinking and exercise have long contributed to the chronic health problems faced by the state.

Cohen says community health is also a good financial investment for business.

"We've seen businesses right now spend $73 billion on preventable, chronic diseases and I underline 'preventable,'" he says.
- See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-09-05/health-issues/can-ky-raise-a-healthier-next-generation/a34165-1#sthash.IOtVDcVD.dpufThe goal is simple, the challenge difficult – how to ensure that the current generation of children in Kentucky grows up healthier than their parents. 

A free one-day conference coming up in Erlanger will attempt to draw engaged civic leaders into that effort.

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., will be a headliner at the forum.

He says it takes leadership and vision to grow community health.

"The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he explains. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits."

Cohen says a study his organization was involved in found that, for every dollar spent on community prevention of health problems, six dollars could be saved.

The conference takes place September 16 and is free to attend. Register online, on the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky website.

Susan Zepada, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, says it's hard work to change behaviors and it isn't a top-down effort – everyone has a role to play. Thus, the forum's title – "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids."

"Whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives,” Zepada says. “Whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce. Whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps."

Zepada adds some Kentuckians' habits around eating, smoking, drinking and exercise have long contributed to the chronic health problems faced by the state.

Cohen says community health is also a good financial investment for business.

"We've seen businesses right now spend $73 billion on preventable, chronic diseases and I underline 'preventable,'" he says.
- See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-09-05/health-issues/can-ky-raise-a-healthier-next-generation/a34165-1#sthash.IOtVDcVD.dpufThe goal is simple, the challenge difficult – how to ensure that the current generation of children in Kentucky grows up healthier than their parents. 

A free one-day conference coming up in Erlanger will attempt to draw engaged civic leaders into that effort.

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., will be a headliner at the forum.

He says it takes leadership and vision to grow community health.

"The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he explains. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits."

Cohen says a study his organization was involved in found that, for every dollar spent on community prevention of health problems, six dollars could be saved.

The conference takes place September 16 and is free to attend. Register online, on the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky website.

Susan Zepada, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, says it's hard work to change behaviors and it isn't a top-down effort – everyone has a role to play. Thus, the forum's title – "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids."

"Whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives,” Zepada says. “Whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce. Whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps."

Zepada adds some Kentuckians' habits around eating, smoking, drinking and exercise have long contributed to the chronic health problems faced by the state.

Cohen says community health is also a good financial investment for business.

"We've seen businesses right now spend $73 billion on preventable, chronic diseases and I underline 'preventable,'" he says.
- See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-09-05/health-issues/can-ky-raise-a-healthier-next-generation/a34165-1#sthash.IOtVDcVD.dpufThe goal is simple, the challenge difficult – how to ensure that the current generation of children in Kentucky grows up healthier than their parents. 

A free one-day conference coming up in Erlanger will attempt to draw engaged civic leaders into that effort.

Larry Cohen, executive director of the Prevention Institute in Oakland, Calif., will be a headliner at the forum.

He says it takes leadership and vision to grow community health.

"The faith community, the schools, the neighborhoods you know, all have something at stake here,” he explains. “And by working together for community health, everyone benefits."

Cohen says a study his organization was involved in found that, for every dollar spent on community prevention of health problems, six dollars could be saved.

The conference takes place September 16 and is free to attend. Register online, on the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky website.

Susan Zepada, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, says it's hard work to change behaviors and it isn't a top-down effort – everyone has a role to play. Thus, the forum's title – "Communities Connecting for Healthier Kids."

"Whether it's fast food outlets that are offering healthy alternatives,” Zepada says. “Whether it's state parks that are offering healthy kid friendly meals made with local produce. Whether it's employers who gently encourage employees to use the steps."

Zepada adds some Kentuckians' habits around eating, smoking, drinking and exercise have long contributed to the chronic health problems faced by the state.

Cohen says community health is also a good financial investment for business.

"We've seen businesses right now spend $73 billion on preventable, chronic diseases and I underline 'preventable,'" he says.
- See more at: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2013-09-05/health-issues/can-ky-raise-a-healthier-next-generation/a34165-1#sthash.IOtVDcVD.dpuf

USDA launches online tool to link farmers with nearby consumers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has unveiled its newest tool to promote local food systems, an online instrument that lets viewers see what local and regional food projects are under way in their area and read case studies, watch videos and see pictures from the field.

The "Food Compass" is the latest effort in the "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" project, meant to expand the number of small, local farmers and ranchers who serve their communities. An interactive map lets viewers see USDA-supported projects related to local food systems in place across the country. That includes information about access to local meals, careers in agriculture and access to healthy food.

The written section includes stories about local food system projects, whether that pertains to farm-to-school, farm-to-hospital and farm-to-institution programs; local meat processing; hoophouses; urban farms; organic farms; and school gardens. Readers can see how people are putting their USDA funds to work to connect to their communities.

The compass notes that buying and selling food at the local, rather than mass consumer, level is a growing trend. In 2011, more than 85 percent of customers asked by the National Grocers Association said they chose to shop at a grocery store based in part on whether it carries food grown from local producers. More than 2,000 schools across the country have farm-to-school programs, and more than 7,000 American cities and towns have farmers' markets. The growing trend is a positive thing since it is "spurring job growth, keeping more farmers on the land and more wealth in rural communities," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. To view the compass, click here.

Webinar on local food projects is set for 2 p.m. Wednesday

An online tool that features the local and regional food projects in the works across the country, as well as case studies that show successful partnerships between producers, businesses and communities, will be unveiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a webinar at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

The "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" compass is an interactive document and map. During the webinar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will discuss the instrument, as well as how local and regional food systems make money for local farmers, ranchers and food entrepreneurs. They will also discuss how responsible food systems increase the number of farms in the country and expand access to healthy food.

Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food was launched in September 2009. The initiative is meant to coordinate USDA resources and expertise on locally grown food.

To watch the webinar via live streaming, click here. Participate live by asking questions on Twitter to @usda and using the hash tag #KYF2. (Read more)

Funds awarded to educate East End Lexingtonians about food, health

Getting community elders to talk to youth about gardening and cooking is one of the missions to be accomplished in Lexington's East End neighborhood from a $52,000 grant.

The funds will create a virtual center where community members can go to learn about food and health. "Our goal is to improve decision making about food through information," said Steve Austin, vice president of the Blue Grass Community Foundation, which was awarded the money by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

"Residents will have the opportunity to talk about what they need to make better food choices," the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. "A digital food information center will then be created so people can go online and learn about all things related to food." Printed information will also be available.

Adults and children living in the neighborhood will interview older members of the community about gardening, food preparation, cooking methods and entrepreneurship. "If we succeed here, we can do it across the city," Austin said. "We can transform Lexington, no matter where people live, to make better decisions about food." (Read more)

Bowling Green schools buy local foods, reap rewards from state

Bowling Green Independent Schools are working with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and nearby farms and purveyors to offer locally grown food in their cafeterias, Jenna Mink of the Bowling Green Daily News reports.

This year, the district has bought locally-grown watermelons, strawberries, peaches and apples. "They're in the process of getting three types of lettuce and tomatoes," Mink reports.

The school district is also participating in the Kentucky Restaurant Rewards Program, which allows buyers of locally grown produce to get receive cash-back rewards from the state agriculture department. Bowling Green schools reportedly received a check for $1,800 for three months of food.

Students are being exposed to local foods, as well as to fruits and vegetables in general, in other ways. Through a pilot project with the Department of Agriculture, students from Bowling Green as well as Scott County are taking field trips to local orchards.

Two area elementary schools are also part of the federally-funded Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, in which grant funds help buy fresh fruit and vegetables for the students. Teachers hand out the produce as a snack three to four times a week. (Read more)