FRANKFORT, Ky. (Nov. 17, 2014) – Today First Lady Jane Beshear and Nancy Cox, dean of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, launched “Plant, Harvest, Eat” - a  cooking demonstration series for elementary and middle school students.

“Plant, Harvest, Eat” features the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture’s Chef Bob Perry with third, fourth and fifth-grade students from Hartstern Elementary in Jefferson County, as well as students from Jessamine, Garrard and Calloway counties. The cooking demonstration series features students preparing easy and delicious recipes, using Kentucky-grown, raised and value-added food products.

“Plan, Harvest, Eat” will be available for viewing in the Capitol Education Center, located on the Capitol grounds and can be accessed here:  http://bit.ly/1BoIRVW.

“I am extremely excited that we are able to utilize the renovated Capitol Education Center as a classroom to teach Kentucky children about locally-grown foods and healthy eating,” said Mrs. Beshear. “One of the roles of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment is to educate our youth, and we are honored to have them as a partner in this initiative.”

“It was a pleasure for the college to work with First Lady Jane Beshear on a project that makes choosing and cooking food fun for kids,” said Dean Cox. “Our role in the college is to educate not only our students on campus but all the citizens of the state whether that is youth through 4-H or adults through the Cooperative Extension Service and other programs. We are particularly interested in helping people learn how to grow fruits and vegetables and in encouraging children and adults to enjoy fresh, locally produced products.”

The five recipes featured in the demonstrations include herbed pasta with roasted cherry tomatoes, roasted Kentucky Proud vegetables, a broccoli frittata, strawberry lemonade muffins and soy and sorghum glazed chicken wings with carrots and celery sticks. Many of these recipes are from the Plate it Up Kentucky Proud program.

Plate it Up Kentucky Proud is a partnership project between the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the School of Human Environmental Sciences in the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. This project provides healthy, great tasting recipes using Kentucky Proud products for the people of Kentucky. You can find these recipes along with many others at the Kentucky Proud website: http://kyproud.com/kentucky-proud-recipes.aspx. Kentucky Proud is the official state marketing program for agricultural products.

In 2013, Gov. Steve Beshear and Mrs. Beshear officially opened the Capitol Education Center (CEC) to serve as an interactive, energy-efficient educational space for the more than 60,000 annual student visitors to the Capitol campus. All demonstrations were filmed in the center’s fully-functional kitchen equipped with General Electric Co. Energy Star appliances. The CEC also serves as home to one of the six Governor’s Gardens that is used to promote products which are grown and produced in Kentucky. Additionally, the CEC is used to educate the public about the health and economic benefits of gardening and utilizing locally grown foods.

For demonstration videos visit http://bit.ly/1BoIRVW and for the recipes visit http://kyproud.com/kentucky-proud-recipes.aspx.

Press release courtesy of the Governor's Office of Ag Policy