LEXINGTON \u2014 The University of Kentucky is strengthening its role as a partner to communities across the Commonwealth through a new approach to purchasing that shares opportunity far beyond campus.<\/p>\n
As part of UK\u2019s Enterprise Services Partnership, UK and Compass Group, the university\u2019s preferred partner, will launch a group purchasing organization (GPO) designed to increase access to Kentucky-grown products while creating more predictable markets for farmers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about putting Kentucky first and using the scale we have at the university level to support the entire Commonwealth,\u201d said UK President Eli Capilouto. \u201cWe are creating a system where we can be a good partner to our farmers, our local organizations and our communities to help them grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The GPO model will leverage Compass\u2019 purchasing network and sourcing expertise to help connect Kentucky producers to consistent buyers \u2014 including UK and potentially local schools and organizations \u2014 at a much greater scale. It will also provide opportunities for organizations throughout the state to access broader purchasing programs that can help reduce costs on food, supplies and other commonly used products.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand the important role farmers and food producers play throughout Kentucky communities,\u201d said Blair Choate, senior vice president, Compass Group at the University of Kentucky. \u201cBy combining the University of Kentucky\u2019s reach with our purchasing expertise, we can help create new opportunities for Kentucky-grown products to reach schools, healthcare organizations and other institutions across the state. Building on relationships already in place and expanding access to new markets, we can further support local producers, strengthen Kentucky\u2019s food system and help communities across the Commonwealth continue to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The initiative is designed to benefit individual farms and Kentucky\u2019s agricultural economy. By increasing in-state purchasing, the GPO will help keep more economic activity and investment local while creating greater demand for Kentucky-grown products.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about building a stronger economy for the whole Commonwealth,\u201d said Eric Monday, executive vice president for finance and administration and co-executive vice president for health affairs. \u201cWhen we create more paths for Kentucky farmers and food businesses to grow, we also strengthen our supply chains, support local communities and keep more of that economic activity here at home. That is good business for UK and good business for the entire state.\u201d<\/p>\n
The GPO will build on a proven foundation laid by The Food Connection, UK\u2019s local food systems institute.<\/p>\n
Housed in the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Food Connection lives out the university\u2019s land-grant mission by working side by side with farmers and food businesses to connect them to wholesale and institutional markets.<\/p>\n
In the past three years, that work has led to more than $9 million in new sales, supported more than 40 new on-farm jobs and reached producers in 80 counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen the value in providing practical support for farmers, from food safety to market access, so they can grow and succeed,\u201d said Ashton Potter, executive director of The Food Connection. \u201cWe are excited for the opportunity this partnership has, to help even more local producers become wholesale-ready and ensure more Kentucky-grown food reaches our campuses and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
UK and Compass Group are continuing to finalize contract details and the GPO structure. Once details are finalized, UK will share more information about how organizations across the state can participate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LEXINGTON \u2014 The University of Kentucky is strengthening its role as a partner to communities across the Commonwealth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76427,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[21262],"tags":[15639,23120,254,28303,1812,6,23390],"class_list":["post-76426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-compass-group","tag-compass-group","tag-economies","tag-economy","tag-farmer","tag-food","tag-united-kingdom","tag-university-of-kentucky"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116861526475616520","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}