Hello there, friends! We hope that you all have been enjoying this lovely spring weather. Speaking of spring, this is the time of year when all of the local farmers’ markets start to emerge from their wintry cocoons and bestow upon us the cornucopia that is fresh produce. Do y’all ever wonder how some people always know where to pop in and get all of these super fresh fruits and veggies? Or which restaurants are using all of the finest produce and meat around? We sure did, and that’s how we came to sit down with some of the folks from Kentucky Proud, the official marketing campaign for the Department of Agriculture here in Kentucky.

A couple of weeks ago we got the chance to sit down and have coffee with Taylor and Tyler from Kentucky Proud, who told us all about how this program got its start and to answer the million dollar question: what does it mean to be Kentucky Proud? The short answer is that, as a Kentucky Proud vendor, you are sourcing as much of your products as you possibly can from Kentucky-based farms or retailers. This is also a way for businesses to advertise that they use/support local products and businesses. Starting back in 2008, the Kentucky Proud campaign has been helping local farms and businesses in a sort-of symbiotic nature; farms can use this designation to alert potential clients that they are local to the state of Kentucky, and businesses can use it to show that they are supporting not only local farms but also putting money back into our economy. And you all know by now that we love the idea of businesses helping each other out - it’s very prevalent, especially here in Lexington. There are 3 things a business has to do to become a Kentucky Proud partner: fill out an application on their website (kyproud.com), maintain business operations in Kentucky, and sell and/or produce products from Kentucky farms. At the moment, there are over 8,000 businesses that are registered as Kentucky Proud (that’s A LOT of businesses!), but there are plans to purge this database of places that may be out of business or non-operational for whatever reason. So if you’re on this list for any reason you may want to log in soon to let them know that you’re still active.

Kentucky Proud is probably known best for its farmers’ markets, and there are plenty of them operating all around the state. This year they are focusing their efforts to get the word out about these local marketplaces with 3 different advertising campaigns: “Freshest Party in Town” will be the theme for the summer months, with “Freshest Harvest” as the fall theme and “Freshest Gifts” as the holiday theme. Most of the bigger markets are actually here in Lexington; most people around here are surely familiar with the large, year-round market that takes place on Saturdays at Cheapside Pavilion, but there are also smaller markets on Southland Drive and at the corner of Maxwell & Broadway that operate on Sundays and Tuesdays/Thursdays during the summer, respectively. You’re probably also aware of the vast presence of restaurants here in town that are Kentucky Proud partners: Corto Lima, Ramseys, and the suite of Ouita Michel establishments are just a few of the places that come to mind when we think of restaurants using local ingredients. I actually looked up all of the Kentucky Proud partners here in Lexington on their website and was amazed by how many people are taking a deep dive into the local scene. Chances are, if you’re going to a restaurant that isn’t a chain then you’re eating at a Kentucky Proud establishment.

As you might imagine, Kentucky Proud has all kinds of different programs and other cool stuff that they sponsor all around the state. Three of the more popular programs that Kentucky Proud offers include: Appalachian Proud: Mountains of Potential, Farm to Fork, and Homegrown By Heroes. Appalachian Proud serves the 37 counties in the Appalachia region of Kentucky, and comes with some extra promotional features that are local to eastern Kentucky. Farm to Fork helps raise awareness about local farms by hosting charity events with local businesses that highlight these farms and their products. People who participate in this program are reimbursed up to $750 on products used that have 100% Direct Farm Impact, meaning said products have to have been produced using only ingredients grown from Kentucky Proud farms or bought from Kentucky Proud businesses. Lastly, Homegrown By Heroes is a program that allows active or retired military members (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard) who are already Kentucky Proud members to display a special marketing logo on their products that signifies they are veterans who work with Kentucky Proud. If you visit a local business or farm with this logo then you can feel good knowing that you are helping out local veterans, and these business owners and farmers can show us how they are helping to give back to the communities that they’ve served in the military. You can find more information about these programs, plus a bunch of other programs, at the Kentucky Proud website.

We hope that this post helps you all understand what it means to be Kentucky Proud! From farmers’ markets to local businesses to grants that can help to offset some of the cost of operations, Kentucky Proud can help out many different people in may different ways. If you or someone you know runs a farm in Kentucky, or has a business that utilizes produce or other products from a Kentucky-based farm, then hit up the Kentucky Proud website at kyproud.com; there are tons of resources there that can point you in the right direction. And don’t forget about the page where you can look to see which restaurants in your area support local farms, that way you’ll know where to go if you’re into supporting local businesses (I mean, y’all read this blog so you must care about local places a little bit!). Thanks again to Tyler and Taylor for chatting with us, we had a great time getting to know more about local farms and businesses!