Partnership With Local Farms Is Changing School Lunches

In Kentucky schools, locally sourced and balanced meals are transforming students’ lunches for the better.

Say goodbye to processed foods and an overall lack of healthier choices.

Federal Grants

Since the pandemic, new funding opportunities have reshaped what school lunch programs can look like.

Federal support has allowed nutrition professionals to rethink how meals are sourced and served.

USDA Support for Healthier Meals

Since the pandemic, there have been new opportunities for improved school lunches.

USDA works with school nutrition professionals to “provide kids with nutritious school meals that support their health and well-being,” according to the USDA website.

Since January of 2021, the USDA has offered almost $13.2 billion in financial support for these programs.

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program is one example of this.

Farm to School and FFVP Programs

Its purpose is “to increase the availability of local foods in schools and help connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for school meals.”

The program allowed for funding up to $500,000 for projects of 24 months in length for the fiscal year 2024.

The USDA has another program with similar goals, called the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP).

This program “is a federal grant offered to elementary schools with 50 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced price meals.”

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program exposes school children to fresh fruits and vegetables as healthy snacks on a routine basis.

The overall goal of any and all initiatives of this nature is to offer children nutritious foods and instill in them an awareness of where their food comes from.

Boyle County High School

At Boyle County High School, students are directly experiencing the benefits of these changes.

The shift has altered both how meals taste and how students feel about eating at school.

Student and Staff Reactions

Lex 18 News featured a quote from one satisfied student at Boyle County High School in Kentucky.

“Most days, honestly, I’m gonna give it a good 9.5. It’s pretty good.”

Sophomore Nora Coleman is more than pleased with the new food unlike anything that was available previously at her school.

USDA meal guidelines have not actually changed, but the menu has “transformed with colorful, flavorful options.”

Staff often cooks from scratch, tests new recipes, and prioritizes locally grown food.

Boyle County School District Food Service Director keeps the show running and keeps students’ tastebuds in mind when deciding upon school lunches.

Quality and Local Sourcing

She is thrilled with the positive feedback from students and their parents.

She commented, “I love it because I know that means they’re enjoying it.

We do prioritize those center-of-the-plate items, so items like beef that are going to feature as an entree.

As a director, I prioritize that because I know the quality is noticeable when you buy the local product, and I think our kids notice that as well.”

Circle G Farms

Local farms play a critical role in making these meals possible.

One nearby operation has become a key partner in Boyle County’s lunch program.

A Sustainable Local Partner

Circle G Farms is just seven miles away from Boyle County High School.

According to their website, “At Circle G Farms, we take pride in raising high-quality beef, pork, produce, and heirloom grains using sustainable farming methods and low stress livestock care.”

Everything we sell is raised, grown, or milled right here on our land because we believe the best food comes from knowing exactly where and how it was produced.

The farm raises crops to feed their cattle, cuts their own hay, and uses manure to fertilize their fields.

Closing the Loop Between Farms and Schools

Carly Guinn, one half of the couple that started the farm, explained the philosophy behind their work.

“That’s the origin of Circle G Farms.

We try to utilize every division of our farm to its highest potential and keep it sustainable.”

Along with her husband Spencer, the farm established a partnership with Boyle County schools several years ago.

Spencer is thrilled with the impact his food has on the children in schools.

“It’s one thing to hear it from your kids, but it’s when their friends come up to us and say ‘We had the sweet potatoes’ or ‘We had tacos at school.’”

It’s really satisfying, that full circle moment where we can see our products going into making the community better, and we’re just one of the farmers doing that.

Successes

The results of these partnerships extend well beyond a single school or farm.

Across Kentucky, similar efforts are reshaping how schools source food.

Statewide Impact and Future Challenges

Circle G Farms is one of 150 Kentucky farms that sell their produce to around 90 state school districts.

The aforementioned federal programs provided the state of Kentucky a $3.2 million grant to make all of these positive changes possible.

Under the new direction of American health policy, the USDA Dietary Guidelines have featured, for the first time in their history, a focus on protein over carbs.

They also emphasize real food over food that comes from a box.

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has connected farms to schools, assisting with crop planning, preparation, and business development.

The KDA reports that schools are some of the largest and most consistent buyers of locally grown meat and produce.

There is one little problem.

In 2025, the USDA put an end to the additional funding for the next round of the program.

This leads to a smaller budget for schools to keep up with the changes in school lunches.

Barsotti has said, “It is hard, you have to evaluate what you think you’ll get your most bang for your buck with now that the grant is no longer active.”

We just have to say, “These are the items that are worth it.”

On the bright side, many farm-to-school partnerships are still alive and well.

These changes to the quality of school lunches will be upheld because they are truly making a difference in the lives of students, parents, and farmers alike.