Agricultural Development Is Economic Development: Kentucky State Parks Local Food Purchasing Case Study

Robert Perry

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2011.014.010

Abstract

First paragraph: In April 2004 I was appointed director of food service for the Kentucky (KY) State Park system and charged with improving its 21 restaurant operations — qualitatively, physically, and financially. Kentucky's state park system is one of the largest in the nation, especially in its number of food service operations. The operations included 17 full-service resort park restaurants scattered widely across the state in primarily rural areas, as well as three state employee cafeterias located in Frankfort and the cafe at the KY Artisan Center in Berea....

Highlights

In April 2004 I was appointed director of food service for the Kentucky (KY) State Park system and charged with improving its 21 restaurant operations — qualitatively, physically, and financially
With the KY State Park system’s annual food purchases averaging around US$5,000,000, buying directly from farmers within the state would be a huge boost to the state’s economy in general and the farm economy in particular. This is a personal account of my experience trying to localize a large and widely dispersed institutional food service operation
It began as does this paper with produce, especially tomatoes, and I explain how I was able to break through decades of bureaucracy to buy directly from Kentucky farmers

Summary

Introduction

In April 2004 I was appointed director of food service for the Kentucky (KY) State Park system and charged with improving its 21 restaurant operations — qualitatively, physically, and financially. Beef With the initial success of the produce program and its promotion through the meetings held around the state, meat and dairy farmers began asking about selling directly to the park system as well. This brought on an entirely new set of hurdles to overcome, first and foremost the existing regulation that these items be bid on an “all state agencies” contract to try and get the lowest price for all state government-run operations, including schools, hospitals, justice facilities, and parks.

Annual Customer Count Overall Food Cost increase Per Person

Bacon free of added

Is Economic Development