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Coming in MAY: The Local Food Systems Summit · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  Hello and welcome to Talking FACS. we have information you can use to strengthen
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  your family, your community, and our state.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension at the University of Kentucky.
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  We are housed in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
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  These days, we hear about summits for all sorts of things, but today we're going
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  to talk about a really fun summit, the Kentucky Local Food System Summit.
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  And my guest, LaToya Drake, the Extension Specialist for Food Access and Engagement
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  with our Kentucky Nutrition Education Program,
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  is here to share with me about this really novel and exciting summit. Welcome, LaToya.
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  Mindy, glad to be here. I am excited about this summit because you know that
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  I have been excited about local foods for, I don't know, a long time.
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  And I know that you are excited about local foods, not just because it's your
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  job, but because you really do have a heart for local foods.
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  Yeah, I feel like local foods changed my life in many ways.
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  And I just appreciate the local food system and the folks in it and also increasing
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  folks access to local foods across the community.
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  And one of the things I get to do, Mindy, and I have a role with the Food Connection,
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  which is department under the Martin-Gatton College as well.
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  And they're doing work with local foods. I get to help them with their communications.
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  So we're talking about the local food system summit that's coming up because
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  that's connecting more and more people to local foods and also just encouraging
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  a more vibrant food system across the state.
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  This year, the summit is partnering with FEAST. Yeah.
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  So tell me more about FEAST. I really appreciate FEAST.
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  So FEAST is Food Equity Access Sustains Tomorrow.
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  That's what the acronym is for. And that is a program that the Food Chain Lex does.
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  And the Food Chain Lex is really doing things to get people fed in Lexington,
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  Kentucky. And they're also doing things to just inspire and encourage the next
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  generation of chefs and food service workers, too.
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  So I really appreciate Feast because it features just 30, 40 chefs, right?
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  And they prepare little bite-sized items during this event that you get to taste and enjoy.
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  And it usually sells out every year because you're just going to just stuff
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  yourself and you get to support a good cause.
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  That's amazing. It is. going and participating in the summit gives you the opportunity
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  to sample little bits of local food system,
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  but then also learn about how it impacts Kentucky.
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  For sure. So the summit is going to be a day and a half event.
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  And in past years, the local food system summit has been a full day,
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  but it's going to be a day and a half.
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  It's going to include some of the typical things that you'd find at a summit
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  or a conference, like those breakout sessions, keynote speakers.
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  It's also this year going to include a super fun food cooking demonstration
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  featuring local food from the Food Connection's own Chef Tanya Whitehouse,
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  who is just a joy to watch.
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  And every time I'm in her presence, I learn something different about cooking and food.
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  And that says a lot because I know you are quite the food demonstrator yourself.
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  Yeah, I do appreciate that and enjoy that part of my job.
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  But she's just, we work with some of the best people at the University of Kentucky.
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  And she definitely is one of those folks that I enjoy learning from as well.
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  So in addition to her presentation, what are some other workshops or speakers
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  that attendees might want to really focus on and get excited about?
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  Because this is going to happen May 21st through the 23rd.
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  The accumulation of that events will be feast that night of the 23rd.
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  So that's a Friday night.
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  You can come out and have fun. But the summit is going to have cooking demonstrations
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  and samples featuring award-winning and James Beard-recognized chefs.
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  There's going to be panels on food sustainability, small farm success,
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  and the future of Kentucky's local food system.
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  And there's going to be learning experiences, right?
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  Covering topics like farm-to-table, cooking, urban agriculture,
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  and food systems policy. Because we want to think about policy change as we
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  promote this summit and feast too, how can we get more people access to fresh and local foods?
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  Well, and if it's a day and a half, you know, that it's a great opportunity
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  if you're coming into Lexington, if you don't actually live in or around Fayette County,
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  then maybe you can take the opportunity to visit some of those local foods or
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  those local venues that have great food and great opportunities for people to enjoy local food.
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  For sure, like some of Ouida's restaurants.
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  And she's a big part of the planning
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  of the feast process and this coming together of Summit and Feast too.
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  And that's just been a joy to work and learn with her as well,
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  because we know that she has been an advocate and a champion of local foods across Kentucky.
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  So she's just awesome and essential to bringing together all these farmers and
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  chefs and food advocates and policymakers and eaters, because we want to bring
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  all those folks together.
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  And if you aren't familiar, LaToya is referring to Ouida Michel,
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  Chef Ouida Michel, who has several restaurants across the Lexington and Bluegrass region.
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  Right. So what lasting impact do we hope that the SUMMIT partnering with FAST will have?
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  We hope that it's going to raise awareness of local foods and what's going on
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  in the local food system across Kentucky. We want to encourage new chefs and
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  encourage new workers in the local food system.
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  We want to also encourage sustainable food practices and expand access to fresh
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  and local ingredients to everyone.
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  And we want to strengthen that Kentucky food system network by fostering lasting connections.
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  We also want to create a platform for ongoing conversations about community-based
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  food solutions, policy development, and economic growth for the local food system.
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  So this conference is not just for the people who prepare or work in the food
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  industry, but definitely for those people who enjoy food and are the consumers
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  of fresh, local Kentucky food.
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  So we hope that everyone will participate in this local food summit and get
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  your tickets while they are still available.
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  So you can get those tickets between the Food Chain website and the Food Connection
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  website. There will be a link there as we get things updated.
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  But mark your calendars for May the 21st through the 23rd of 2025.
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  It'll be the seventh annual local food system summit and it'll be the feast
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  event too that Friday night wrapping things up and the celebration of local foods.
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  LaToya, thanks so much for taking the time to share about this exciting event.
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  I know that it will be a wonderful opportunity for people who are involved with
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  food in Kentucky to get together and enjoy just celebrating the fact that we
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  do have such a rich food culture here. For sure. Thank you, Mindy.
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  LaToya, I will make sure to link registration information in the show notes.
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  And if you are just tuning in, you are listening to Talking FACS,
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  and we are available wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  Music.