The Food Connection — an applied food systems center that serves farmers, food producers, students and community members — recently published its 12^th annual report about UK Dining's local procurement efforts.  

The report's analysis tracks local food purchasing against predetermined benchmarks set forth by the University of Kentucky in partnership with food service partner Aramark. 

The local procurement initiative began in 2014 in response to feedback from stakeholders, both on and off campus, regarding UK’s role in Kentucky’s agriculture and food system. The contract requires that UK meet annual Kentucky Farm and Food Business Impact (KYFBBI) purchasing requirements, which means purchasing foods sourced from Kentucky farms and Kentucky-based food businesses.  

The Food Connection, created as part of the Aramark contract and housed in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, leverages local food systems expertise to support the growth of the local farm and food economies across Kentucky — in keeping with UK’s land-grant mission.  

“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 2014, the initiative has resulted in over $31 million of direct investment in Kentucky farms and food businesses and has drawn national recognition and awards.  

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

Some of the report’s highlights include:  

• Fiscal year 2025 marks the second year that UK Dining’s contractual commitment for KYFFBI purchasing be at least 20% of total food and beverage purchases. In previous years, the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) required a specific dollar amount rather than a percentage. 
• The actual fiscal year 2025 KYFBBI total was $7,033,290, which represents 43% of UK Dining’s total food and beverage spend — more than double the contractual commitment. 
• UK Dining spent $1,536,258 on Kentucky Farm Impact purchases. 

“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.”  

Access the full report at https://bit.ly/4pqA7cL. Learn more about The Food Connection at https://foodconnection.ca.uky.edu/.  

# # # 

Writer: Bailey Vandiver, bailey.vandiver@uky.edu 

The Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is an Equal Opportunity Organization with respect to education and employment and authorization to provide research, education information and other services to individuals and institutions that provide equal opportunities for qualified persons in all aspects of institutional operations and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, religion, creed, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, uniformed service, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information or social or economic status.