Sustainability on Campus


We buy local!
EKU has been buying more and more locally grown products! Buying local means that your food travels a shorter distance to ensure that you are eating fresh, supporting local Kentucky farmers, and also strengthening our economy!

Nutritional Enhancement

The average meal travels about 1,500 miles to get from the farm to your plate. This causes a reduction in the food’s nutritional value due to the travel time. By buying local, not only is your food fresher, but your body will thank you as well because it absorbs more nutrients which keeps you healthy.

Helping Local Farmers

Purchasing from Kentucky farmers helps our growth as a community. EKU’s continuing support will keep farmers in business and also help strengthen the economy. When one buys at a local farmer’s market, compared to a super market, 50% of that money stays in the community, which helps strengthen our surrounding areas as a whole. EKU wants to partner with more farmers as we increase the amount of fresh food on campus. Some of the local farmers that we currently work with include:

·        Vibrant Greens – Richmond, KY

·        Abel Organics – Lexington, KY

·        Black Diamond Farm – Lexington, KY

·        Evans Orchard & Cider Mill – Georgetown, KY

·        Grow Farms – Louisville, KY

·        Jeremy Lange Farms – Liberty, KY

 EKU is turning GREEN!

Our dining program is making changes around the campus to keep a healthy environment. Some of these changes have turned into natural habits that you can do as well. Some of these include:

·        Recycling all cardboard and paper

·        Choosing to recycle plastic bottles in the Food Court instead of using the trash
·        Using only recycled napkins

·        Recycling 100% of our fryer oil

Here are some changes that our dining services have made to keep you in a healthier environment:

·        Providing water cups made from corn by Eco Products

·        Offering reusable cups for purchase to use year-round

·        Compostable coffee cups have replaced Styrofoam

·        Printing all dining brochures on recycled paper

These are just a few of our initiatives! Find out more by following us on Twitter.


 Check out more about Kentucky Proud here.