Following the University of Kentucky’s decision to take its classes online because of COVID-19, Aramark Corporation, UK’s partner in dining services, The Food Connection at the University of Kentucky and Bluegrass Farm to Table have moved to find a new outlet for local farmers who would have otherwise been supplying UK’s students on campus.
“Just because the dining halls closed doesn’t mean our care and concern for our farmers ended,” said Carolyn Gahn of Aramark, in a release.
To help fill the gap for local farmers, they turned to Alice Chalmers, who directs Local Food Connection, a division of the food-service company Creation Gardens, which serves as the middle link in the farm to university chain.
The result is a new direct-to-consumer service to provide the public with access to the local produce and proteins that would normally appear in campus dining rooms, as well as other locally raised foods and some pantry staples such as butter, oil and vinegar. Participating farms include Elmwood Stock Farm, Marksbury Farm, Mount Pleasant Farm, Mulberry Ridge Farm, Prayer Mountain Farm and Salad Days Farm.
“The work of building local food systems has always been rooted in strong relationships and collaboration. This new initiative is just another example of how we as UK, and we as Kentuckians, come together to support each other and our local farmers,” said Lilian Brislen, executive director of The Food Connection, which is housed in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
Customers can place orders online through a Creation Gardens web-based platform by 10 p.m. Tuesdays and pick up their order at one of two locations in Lexington on Thursdays. The UK Department of Horticulture's Community Supported Agriculture program is supporting the initiative by co-hosting a pick-up location alongside their usual Thursday farm stand at the Horticultural Research Farm on Man O’ War Boulevard. Great Bagel and Bakery at 396 Woodland Ave. and Smithtown Seafood at West Sixth, 501 W. Sixth St. also will serve as pick-up locations.
“Our existing network of local food systems partners allowed us to quickly mobilize to develop creative solutions,” said Ashton Potter Wright, Lexington’s director of Local Food and Agricultural Development, who manages the Bluegrass Farm to Table Program. “Our local farmers are resilient, and we will continue to support them in whatever way we can to ensure their continued viability during this public health emergency.”
The new food distribution program is open to the public, not just university employees and students. As many people look for ways to adjust their dining patterns at home, many people are suddenly finding themselves cooking more and looking to local farmers for fresh food.
“This program will help provide an additional way for our community to access fresh, nutritious food that has been raised by Kentucky farmers just for us,” Brislen said.
Local farms have always been an important part of the local economy, as well as a vital cog in the system to build healthy, sustainable communities.
“This initiative is the perfect example of the public-private partnerships we’ve worked to build around our local food economy,” Gahn said.
To order or for more details on times and other pick-up locations as they are added, visit https://localfoodconnection.localfoodmarketplace.com/