OUR MISSION

The Food Connection is an applied food systems center that serves farmers, food producers, students, and community members by supporting the development of vibrant and equitable food systems on our campus and across Kentucky.

The Food Connection supports our land-grant mission through three key areas of work: transdisciplinary education, high-impact service and outreach, and grounded research on regional and regenerative farming and food systems. 

We work directly with our dining partner, UK Dining, to continuously improve our local farm and business impact food procurement for campus dining, as a way to spur innovation and growth across Kentucky’s local food economy.

We engage farmers, community partners, political leaders, cooperative extension, and faculty in shaping and implementing our goals and programs and work to facilitate increased collaboration and development across all sectors of our food system.