Press Releases
Food service directors accepted awards on behalf of the student winners of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Art Contest on Friday in Lexington. Pictured are, from left: Linda Campbell, Perry County, on behalf of third-place winner Jalen Collier of Perry County Central High School; Judy Ellis, Boyle County, for second-place finisher Cheyenne Berry of Boyle County High School; and Valerie Knight, Webster County, for first-place winner Mary Kate Rakestraw of Dixon Elementary School. Tina Garland, right, coordinator of the KDA’s Farm to School Program, presented the awards. (Kentucky Department of Agriculture photo)
Farm to School Art Contest winners honored
For Immediate Release
Friday, December 11, 2015
For more information contact:
Ted Sloan
(502) 564-1138
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Students from Webster, Boyle, and Perry counties were honored as the statewide winners of the Farm to School Art Contest at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Administrators Conference on Friday in Lexington.
“I appreciate the efforts of all the students who entered the contest,” Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said. “We conduct this contest to help students and their parents understand the importance of providing fresh, local foods to Kentucky school children. Farm to School encourages Kentucky children to adopt a healthy lifestyle while also helping Kentucky farmers find new markets for their products.”
Mary Kate Rakestraw, a student at Dixon Elementary School in Webster County, was awarded first place and took the top prize of $50. Valerie Knight is her school’s food service director, and her school won the services of a chef for a day.
Cheyenne Berry of Boyle County High School took second place and won $30. Judy Ellis is her school’s food service director, and her school won aprons and a cookbook for the food service staff.
Jalen Collier of Perry County Central High School finished in third place and won $20. Linda Campbell is the food service director at Jalen’s school, and the school was awarded spices and a cookbook.
Nearly 70 entries were submitted to the state contest. Students from throughout the Commonwealth created artwork based on the theme “Farm to School Lunch Snapshot.” Each county selected one winner in each of the elementary, middle/junior high school, and high school age groups. County school food service directors submitted their counties’ winning entries to the contest.
The Farm to School Program helps Kentucky schools find and purchase local foods to serve to their students. To find out more about the Farm to School Program, contact Tina Garland, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Program coordinator, at (502) 382-7505 or tina.garland@ky.gov.
