Kentucky Farmers Gain $31M from UK Dining Partnership

By Blake Jackson

The Food Connection, an applied food systems center at the University of Kentucky (UK), has released its 12th annual report highlighting UK Dining’s efforts to source food locally.

The report reviews progress toward benchmarks established through UK’s partnership with Aramark, the university’s food service provider.

The local procurement initiative was launched in 2014 following input from both campus and community stakeholders who urged UK to strengthen its role in Kentucky’s agriculture and food system.

Under the dining contract, UK is required to meet annual Kentucky Farm and Food Business Impact (KYFBBI) purchasing goals, which mandate buying food from Kentucky farms and locally based food businesses.

The Food Connection, created as part of that contract and located in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, uses its expertise in food systems to help grow Kentucky’s farm and food economy. This work reflects UK’s land-grant mission of serving communities across the Commonwealth.

“Our team works closely with UK Dining to identify new Kentucky farm impact items to bring to campus and provides tailored technical assistance to Kentucky farmers who are interested in selling to large food service operations like UK Dining,” said Ashton Potter, executive director of The Food Connection.

Since the initiative began, it has generated more than $31 million in direct investment for Kentucky farms and food businesses, while also earning national recognition.

“The Food Connection x UK Dining Partnership continues to be a national model for institutional local procurement,” Potter added.

Among the latest report’s findings:

• Fiscal year 2025 is the second year UK Dining’s contract required that KYFBBI purchases make up at least 20% of total food and beverage spending.
• The actual total reached $7,033,290 - 43% of spending, more than double the requirement.
• Kentucky Farm Impact purchases accounted for $1,536,258.

“UK’s land-grant mission calls us to strengthen communities across the Commonwealth,” said Laura Stephenson, vice president for land-grant engagement and dean of Martin-Gatton CAFE.

“The Food Connection and UK Dining partnership demonstrates how we can live out that mission by connecting Kentucky farmers and food businesses with our campus community.”

The full report is available at https://bit.ly/4pqA7cL.

Photo Credit: university-of-kentucky