On Behalf of Commissioner James R. Comer, I Would Like to Invite You to Partner with The

On behalf of Commissioner James R. Comer, I would like to invite you to partner with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to sponsor the Kentucky Farm to School Junior Chef competition. This is a statewide youth cooking competition designed to offer youth the opportunity to learn valuable skills in recipe development, food preparation, marketing, public presentation, organization, teamwork and community involvement. Additionally, the program will stimulate interest in local agriculture, create a nontraditional market for Kentucky producers, increase quality of products available to school cafeterias, and ultimately increase consumption of produce by Kentucky’s students. The Kentucky Farm to School Junior Chef competition is organized such that each school may be represented by one team of three to five students, grades 9-12. Each team is sponsored by an adult supervisor who is a school employee, parent, chef, or adult representative of a related community organization. The school team will work with the school Food Service Director to develop a recipe using local products that will be appropriate for use in a school cafeteria, as well as at home. Recipes must be submitted to the Department of Agriculture by March 15, 2013. A full copy of rules is attached. The competition is organized by districts and regions just as the Kentucky Sweet 16 basketball competition. District cook-offs are to be conducted by April 27, 2013, and regional cook-offs will be conducted by May 25, 2013. The final 16 teams will compete and a winner will be selected at the state fair in Louisville, August 16-25. We are seeking facilities for the district and regional competitions. It is our hope that Cooperative Extension will find partnering in this endeavor enhances youth and adult exposure to Cooperative Extension allowing earned media exposure for agriculture, builds relationships with local school systems, and encourages sourcing of local producers. I am asking that this information be forwarded to agents who might be interested in opening the county office to be used for these competitions. Agents who might be interested in sponsoring a team are also invited to do so. Please have any interested agents contact Tina Garland, Kentucky Farm to School Coordinator, by emailing [email protected], or calling (502) 382-7505.

Sincerely,

Tina G. Garland Kentucky Department of Agriculture Farm to School Program Coordinator