FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 3, 2011
For more information contact:
Bill Clary
(502) 564-1137

 

Art contest highlights Farm to School Week

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky students can compete for prizes and learn about the benefits of local food in a statewide art contest to commemorate Farm to School Week Oct. 9-15. The contest is being conducted to raise awareness of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Program.

“I invite all Kentucky school children to participate in this contest and learn about the importance of enjoying fresh, nutritious Kentucky Proud foods,” Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said.

Students must submit original drawings on white, unlined 8 ½ X 11-inch paper based on the theme “Let’s Grow Healthy the Kentucky Proud Way!” Participating school districts will select winning entries in elementary school, middle/junior high school, and high school. The districts must submit the winning entries at the Kentucky School Nutrition Association conference on Oct. 26.

A panel of judges selected by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture will select the first- , second- , and third-place entries statewide. The student who creates the first-place entry will win a $50 savings bond from the Department; the student with the second-place entry will win a $30 savings bond; and the student with the third-place entry will win a $20 savings bond. The winning students will be honored at the Kentucky Commodity Conference in December in Bowling Green. Individual school districts may award prizes to their district-wide winners.

The contest is sponsored by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Nutrition Education Program, the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, Fuel Up to Play 60, and Kentucky Action for Healthy Kids.

More than 80 Kentucky school districts participate in the Farm to School program, including the Jefferson County district, which serves more than 100,000 students. Eleven districts spent more than $62,000 on local food for their students during the first eight months of the year.

“The Farm to School Program connects Kentucky farmers with Kentucky schools,” Commissioner Farmer said. “The schools get fresh, local food from just down the road to serve to their students. The farmers get some extra income and a new market for their products.”

Fresh Kentucky Proud foods help reduce Kentucky’s childhood obesity rate. A 2007 survey found that Kentucky was third in the nation in childhood obesity, and 21 percent of Kentucky children between the ages of 10 and 17 were affected, according to a recent report.

For more information about the contest, including full contest rules, go to the Farm to School page on the Kentucky Department of Agriculture's website, www.kyagr.com. For more information about the Farm to School program, contact program coordinator Tina Garland at (502) 573-0282 or tina.garland@ky.gov.