Fresh, affordable food and water resilience are coming together in Lexington, where FoodChain’s Neighborhood Green Grocery has opened next to the nonprofit’s aquaponics farm and kitchen.
FoodChain, a Lexington nonprofit focused on local food, education, workforce training, and hands-on learning, works to bring healthy, affordable food to communities that need better access to fresh food. Its new grocery, recently featured by the Lexington Herald-Leader, expands that work while offering a public-facing example of a larger Kentucky State University story — one about water, food systems, Extension, student training, and the future of agriculture in the Commonwealth.
Kentucky State’s relationship with FoodChain reaches back more than a decade. Janelle Hager, State Specialist for Aquaponics at Kentucky State’s Aquaculture Research Center, joined FoodChain’s Board in 2014, shortly after its aquaponics demonstration system was built. In 2019, Kentucky State partnered with FoodChain to install a marine shrimp aquaponic system, extending the University’s long-standing research and Extension work in aquaponics.
For Kentucky State, FoodChain’s continued growth illustrates the kind of real-world, partner-based ecosystem the University is helping build around aquaponics and soilless agriculture — connecting aquatic science research, Cooperative Extension expertise, student training, and community food systems across the Commonwealth.
Source : kysu.edu