The University of Kentucky announced a new program to bring fresh food and nutrition education to Kentucky communities through food trucks.
The new initiative is called Food Force One and is in partnership with Compass Group, a food service company. The program will use two food trucks to bring “access to fresh, nutritious meals, education and outreach” to Kentuckians, according to the press release.
UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said this initiative, like all of UK’s, starts with “first principles.”
“We start with what our principles are, and our top principle, our mission is, ‘How do we advance the state in everything that we do?’” Blanton said.
The principle is about making Kentucky “healthier, wealthier and wiser” each day, he said.
The food trucks will be a platform for collaborative efforts between a variety of UK programs including extension offices, healthcare and community engagement. Blanton said Compass Group was very interested in the mission to advance the state and funding would be part of what the company is bringing in its contract.
“This seemed like a way using Compass’ capacity to reach across the state to purchase locally, to do group purchasing programs and purchase at such scale and scope that it could be affordable and also beneficial to local communities,” Blanton said,
This statewide ability is a part of UK’s land grant role, which requires outreach across the state.
The press release said UK and Compass Group have a joint commitment to “improve health outcomes and strengthen local food systems statewide.” This could include public health initiatives, emergency response and local partnerships.
“We know that as much progress as our state has made in the last several years, in terms of the economy, in terms of health care, there are still real issues in our state,” Blanton said. “There are still a number of places that are food deserts, or where there's not a lot of access to groceries, or affordable nutritious food, where there's not a lot of access to affordable health care or primary care kinds of services, or even urgent care kinds of services.”
In addition to bringing fresh food to areas in need, the Food Force One initiative will also see involvement from other parts of the university like the College of Medicine or the College of Dentistry.
UK already has a presence in each of Kentucky’s 120 counties through its extension offices and Blanton said this initiative would be an “add-on” to the work already being done.
The final contract between UK and Compass Group is expected to be completed in July and the Food Force One is intended to start in the fall.
