Sustainability Now! | Jann Knappage | Equitable Local Food Systems | Feb. 21, 2022

This week on Sustainability Now!, your host, Justin Mog, digs deep into our local food system here in Kentucky with Jann Knappage, Food System Specialist in the Nutrition Education Program at University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. (http://planeatmove.com). Jann recently served as Board Chair of the Community Farm Alliance (https://cfaky.org/). CFA works to organize and encourage cooperation among rural and urban citizens through leadership development and grassroots democratic processes to ensure an essential, prosperous place for family-scale agriculture in our economies and communities. CFA envisions a food and fiber system vital to the state’s economy that provides nutritious food for Kentuckians in a manner that is socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable.

Jann hails from Wolfe County and has dedicated the last decade of her life to food and farming. Jann says, "not many things bring me greater joy than talking about food systems. Since moving to Kentucky in 2014, I have had the privilege to work with several organizations in their efforts to create food access for limited resource Kentuckians. Not just any food, but fresh, local food. Supporting the health of individuals and families, while supporting our Kentucky farmers, is foundational for healthy, thriving communities. In my current position with the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, I focus on working with the SNAP and SNAP-eligible audience on local food system projects. I also co-own a small farm outside Winchester, KY (http://foxandhenfarm.com) and co-founded the Red River Gorge Farmers Market (http://rrgfm.com). We just completed our first farmers market season in 2021. We chose this lifestyle because we desire to walk gently on this earth and have a strong need to work in tandem with Mother Nature. All this being said, food and farming are my life’s work."

Check out the new Farm to School website designed to connect local producers and food service directors: http://kyfarmtoschool.com

As always, our feature is followed by your community action calendar for the week, so get your calendars out and get ready to take action for sustainability NOW!

Sustainability Now! airs on Forward Radio, 106.5fm, WFMP-LP Louisville, every Monday at 6pm and repeats Tuesdays at 12am and 10am. Find us at http://forwardradio.org

The music in this podcast is courtesy of the local band Appalatin and is used by permission. Explore their delightful music at http://appalatin.com