Cooking & Nutrition Education
COOK. EAT. GROW.
STIR IT UP!
COMMUNITY NUTRITION
AQUAPONICS EDUCATION
BUFF PROGRAM
NOURISH LEXINGTON
CACFP & LFPA
FARM TO SCHOOL
SNACKS PROGRAM
SFSP PROGRAM
Cost is $150 per class ($900-$1,200 for 6-8 classes)
COOK. EAT. GROW
These classes serve as an introduction to Food Literacy as students are exposed to new cultures, develop new skills related to cooking, and have the opportunity to explore personal food preferences.
Our CEG classes are designed around the three pillars of our teaching kitchen.
- Increase Kitchen Confidence: Students will learn the skills necessary to be successful in their own kitchen! Participants will learn the names and uses for different kitchen tools. Our classes will also introduce and help kids to improve their knife skills- holding a knife, chopping, mincing, etc. Students will also learn how to measure for recipes, using the stove top and oven, and different techniques for preparing fruits and vegetables.
- Discover Seasonality of Fruits and Vegetables: Our focus on local produce in our cooking classes brings attention to the growing seasons for different fruits and vegetables. Participants will learn when tomatoes are freshest and which types of squash to use in November. They will also expand their knowledge of Kentucky agricultural products and how to adjust recipes for the season.
- Explore personal food preferences: We love fresh fruits and vegetables and experimenting with different ingredients at FoodChain! This might mean we are cooking with something kids have never tried before or substituting a familiar ingredient for something unfamiliar. Through our cooking classes, students will have the opportunity to use all of their senses to experience food in a way that may be new to them. Experimenting with recipes is always encouraged and cooking techniques to discover what you like. Prepare to expand your palate!
Students will learn and practice knife skills, learn basic kitchen safety, work with different fruits and vegetables, try new recipes, and learn to talk about food in a way that is positive and inclusive.
STIR IT UP!
Cooking classes for a variety of ages and participants so people can gain kitchen confidence and make food choices that are good for both our bodies and the food system. Taught in a small group setting, STIR IT UP! is the perfect starting point for your future culinary adventures.
Skills learned during classes:
- Knife skills
- Kitchen Safety
- Temperature danger Zones
- Basic cooking knowledge
- Food nutrition
Community Nutrition
We’re thrilled to announce our partnership with the Whole Cities Foundation as a 2023 Community First Grant partner! Thanks to this support, we’re excited to introduce Community Cooking Classes, held every 3rd Saturday of the month from 1:00pm-2:30pm in our kitchen at FoodChain. These classes are free and open to everyone in the community, aiming to expand access to fresh, healthy food and nutrition education. Join us as we focus on cooking with seasonal, local produce, boosting kitchen confidence, and discovering personal food preferences. Together, we believe in Fresh Food For All and are committed to building a thriving local food system.
Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity!
Classroom Aquaponics
Classroom aquaponics systems in which we work with groups of students to set this up in a classroom, community space, etc.
Classrooms can choose from:
- 10 gallon
- 20 gallon
- our newest 55 gallon vertical system
Allows hands on interaction and learning opportunities for students to raise fish and plants in the same connected system. Teaches about the nitrogen cycle, ecosystem, fish and plant life, etc.
Aquaponics Farm Tours
Public tours of our aquaponics farm take place every Saturday from 1-2pm. Tours last between 45 minutes- 1 hour. We also provide private tours for school groups, camps, community groups, etc. Learn the history of FoodChain, all about aquaponics, how our farm was designed, built, and its functions, and get up close to our farm raised tilapia and marine shrimp.
BUFF
A FoodChain and Seedleaf joint program to expand Urban Ag initiatives.
BUFF: Bluegrass Urban Farm Friends!
This program is designed to work out kids’ urban farm and garden knowledge muscles with the combination of outdoor raised beds, farms, and indoor aquaponics experience. This opportunity is open to both middle and high school students. Students will get to spend time in Seedleaf’s community gardens, FoodChain’s indoor aquaponics, community centers, and field trips to agricultural destinations in the area. This program provides paid internships for middle and high school students to learn more about urban ag.
SFSP
FoodChain became a SFSP sponsor in 2019 and continues to work with neighborhood centers and summer camps to provide meals to Lexington youth. Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) works to lessen the burden on food insecure families who need to feed their children (and themselves) when school is out of session. FoodChain also provides educational activities at our feeding sites or in partnership with the summer camps. To date, FoodChain has served over 134,077 meals to kids in Lexington.
Farm To School
Farm to school is connecting millions of kids to fresh, healthy food and supporting local agriculture across the country.
Farm to school enriches the connections communities have with fresh, healthy food and local food producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and early care and education settings. With farm to school, students gain access to healthy, local foods as well as education opportunities such as school gardens, cooking lessons and farm field trips.
Farm to school implementation in Fayette County involves all three of the following:
- Procurement: Local foods are purchased, promoted, and served in the cafeteria or as a snack or taste-test in schools throughout Fayette County.
- School gardens: Students engage in hands-on learning through gardening.
Education: Students participate in educational activities related to agriculture, food, health, or nutrition.
CACFP
The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federal program that provides reimbursements for nutritious meals and snacks to eligible children and adults who are enrolled for care at participating child care centers, day care homes, and adult day care centers. CACFP also provides reimbursements for meals served to children and youth participating in afterschool care programs, children residing in emergency shelters, and adults over the age of 60 or living with a disability and enrolled in day care facilities. CACFP contributes to the wellness, healthy growth, and development of young children and adults in the United States. FoodChain works with The Nest childcare center and WECEP to provide CACFP meals to students enrolled in their programs.
LFPA
A grant program of the USDA, awarded to KY Dept of Ag who administers the grant. FoodChain is a contractor under the grant for the Food Box Program (8/1/2023-and the Frozen Meal Production (est start date 9/1/2024)
The LFPA program is authorized to maintain and improve food and agricultural supply chain resiliency, with additional priorities supporting Kentucky’s socially disadvantaged producers via:
- Exclusive purchases of local and regional foods produced within the state (or within 400 miles of the delivery location);
- Accepting a wide variety of products like fruits, vegetables, fish, seafood, dairy products, meat and poultry, eggs, etc. that are unprocessed or minimally processed;
- Providing a platform for networking and economic opportunities intended to be sustained past the life of the grant; and
- Promoting financial benefits for #1 or “first choice” products sold at their retail market value.
Additionally, the LFPA grant program encourages all distribution efforts to prioritize Kentuckians who are low-income or reside in underserved communities to increase their accessibility to healthy, nutritious, and local products. All LFPA purchases will be distributed without encumbrance or eligibility/qualifying requirements.
SNACKS
FoodChain’s Super Nutritious And Creative Kentucky Snacks (SNACKS), promotes nutritious eating habits and supports the local food economy. They provide innovative and wholesome snacks made with fresh, local ingredients to schools, daycares, and events, offering students direct access to nutritious foods. The program educates students about local food sources and sustainability, fostering a love for nutritious, locally sourced snacks. SNACKS improves students’ dietary choices and overall health while benefiting the community and local farmers.
Nourish Lexington
Nourish Lexington is FoodChain’s direct food access program, operated out of our Teaching & Processing Kitchen. Nourish seeks to eliminate barriers to accessing fresh food by combining direct food access with education to empower our community. This program was created out of the need which arose when the COVID 19 pandemic of 2020 changed daily lives and livelihoods. Unemployment skyrocketed and people had to stay home. Among those laid off were restaurant and hospitality industry workers whose jobs evaporated as restaurants closed and large events were canceled.
While the effects of the pandemic have been felt far and wide, they most severely impacted historically marginalized and vulnerable populations. Food insecurity increased at the same time that traditional food resources, such as school lunch programs, were upended.The need in our local food economy and our community required action, and FoodChain joined together with VisitLEX, the Murry Foundation, and Keeneland to form a unique effort to solve these challenges through community supported action. This allowed FoodChain to carve and establish channels for efficient distribution of local, fresh foods to families experiencing food insecurity right here in Lexington. It has continued to be a major part of FoodChain’s impact, providing hot dinners twice a week from our front door, grocery boxes which are delivered directly to families in need, as well as distributed every Friday from our facility- each meal, grocery kit, and extra focused on providing diverse food options, culturally appropriate nutrition, supporting local farms, and including educational opportunities to deepen recipients knowledge of food systems, nutrition, and food stories.