Foodchain

FoodChain inspires youth and families in our food desert neighborhood to grow, prepare, consume and share fresh food. To do this we operate a Indoor Aquaponics Demonstration Farm inside of a previously abandoned bread factory in the heart of downtown Lexington. Here we've grown and harvested thousands of pounds of fresh greens, herbs, microgreens, and tilapia over our short four year history. Additionally, we've hosted more than 8,500 visitors, including field trips for area school groups, seniors, and even family reunions! These visitors leave with a new understanding of how frehs food can be grown in nontraditional spaces, why conserving our resources is so important for the future of feeding our community, and most exciting of all, that fresh food is TASTY!

Our education doesn't stop there! We also work in schools to help classrooms install small aquaponics systems of their own. In 2016 alone, our Classroom Aquaponics Program helped 16 area classrooms start aquaponics systems and corresponding lesson plans. We also participate in various community events and partner with many nonprofits in Lexington to bring fresh food access and education to all!

But there's so much more needed to help forge new links to fresh food. Specifically, COOKING! 

In 2016 we launched our Cook. Eat. Grow. program and have worked already with more than 50 local elementary students over multiple 7 week sessions to teach them how to prepare and cook fresh locally grow foods into tasty meals and snacks! This programming will expand in the coming year as FoodChain embarks on it's biggest expansion yet - the Teaching & Processing Kitchen!

With the financial support of countless individuals, construction on the bay adjacent to FoodChain's farm has begun! Here we'll be able to host even more afterschool and summer programming for area youth and families to teach knife skills, meal preparation, and nutrition. Even more, the back half of the Kitchen will allow FoodChain to offer living wage jobs for area residents to be trained at light vegetable processing. Here neighbors will wash, sort, chop, freeze, dry, and puree locally grown surplus produce.  By utilizing seconds and imperfect vegetables, the final products will be affordable, in addition to convenient and nutritious. 

As one supporter said "There are a lot of urban farming and food education organizations out there, but I know of none as innovative as FoodChain!"

Please join us as the next link in FoodChain!