The Berea College Local Food Initiative (LFI) has been awarded a Service-Learning Mini-Grant by the Center for Excellence in Learning Through Service (CELTS). The grant will support LFI efforts to compile, publish, and publicize a guide to procuring locally-produced food, and half of the grant will be awarded to the LFI community partner, Madison County Action Team (MCAT)/MERJ Market. The grant is made possible by a three-year Learn and Serve America grant designated for collaborative projects between faculty, students and community partners.

Key aspects of the Local Food Guide project include:

• surveying existing resources/programs, including those offered by: Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Partners for Family Farms (PFF), LocalHarvest.org, and the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project;
• interviewing food producers from Madison, Estill, Rockcastle, and Jackson Counties, as well as community activists and professionals involved in promotion of local agriculture in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges facing small-scale producers while also updating the information needed for the guide;
• surveying local consumers to better explore the intersection of supply and demand for local produce;
• contacting local restaurants to solicit their interest in buying locally;
• formatting and publishing the guide;
• working with the media and other community-based organizations to promote the guide; and
• exploring the origins of campus meals as well as on-campus efforts to support local agriculture.

In April, the LFI created and administered a campus-wide survey to gauge the knowledge and interest of Berea College students, faculty, and staff in college-grown and local foods. Over 360 people completed the survey, and five students won $20 in a random drawing of student survey participants: Austin Belcher, J.D. Bellamy, Janice Dail, Anastasia Shegay, and Bethany Todd. Survey results will be posted on the LFI Web site in the near future.

Dingman Awards Students for Head, Hands, and Heart
Read the BCNow article.