Recap: Eastern Kentucky Buyer Tour

Earlier this month, Savannah Columbia and The Food Connection's Value Chain Coordinators (VCC) took three Kentucky producers on a Buyer Tour in Eastern Kentucky. For those who may be unfamiliar, a Buyer Tour is a tour of local food buyers in an area to initiate connections between those food buyers and local food producers. Buyer Tours allow growers and producers to get a behind-the-scenes look at what happens at marketplaces such as retail stores, locally sourced restaurants, school foodservice, and local food distributors. Attendees can ask questions, talk with buyers, and receive first-hand knowledge about what it is like to sell to a restaurant, distributor, or a local retail opportunity.

On the Tour in Eastern Kentucky, producers visited Jackson County Independent Schools, Hop’s, and Lionheart Local. Each stop is unique, as they purchase food for different consumers.

• Jackson County Independent Schools serves 355 K-12 students  
• Hop’s is a locally sourced restaurant in its sixth year of business. They seasonally serve Red River Gorge tourists and community members.  
• Lionheart Local opened in December of 2025 as a place for consumers to purchase organic food without driving an hour to get it.  

Each stop on the tour was dedicated to making new connections with local food producers – which is what this tour is all about. It was encouraging to see the connections made on the tour that will (hopefully soon) come to fruition.  

Two of the Value Chain Coordinators recapped the Tour in their own words.

Bo Milburn (Central KY VCC): The Eastern Kentucky Buyer Tour really demonstrated the shared interdependence that exists within our local food system. It was encouraging to see and hear the commitment each site has to supporting local farmers, as well as the strong relationships that have developed as a result. The tour highlighted how these connections can create meaningful opportunities for farmers while strengthening the local economies.

Emily Spencer (Eastern KY VCC): The Buyer Tour in Eastern Kentucky really showcased the benefits for farmers and food producers looking to sell into markets in smaller areas, outside of the main metropolitan areas of the state. Each stop on the tour- the school, restaurant, and grocer- indicated how much they lean on personal conversations with farmers to make a purchase, and that these purchases are often incredibly flexible based on what the farmer has available at the time. While some of this happens in bigger markets, it was remarkable that each stop on the tour mentioned their flexibility to meet the farmers where they are, and that their commitment to "buying local" is really driven by their drive to support their communities.    

Our next Buyer Tour takes place in Northern Kentucky on October 29, 2026. RSVP here: https://marketready.uky.edu/events/marketready-food-connection-buyer-tour-northern-kentucky