Student Run Farm Food Safety
Safety is always our #1 priority on the Kentucky State University Student-Run Farm. All of our Urban agriculture farm techs and student personell are certified and produce safety trained through the Produce Safety Alliance and State Food Safety Organization. We ensure all of our Student Run Farm fruits and vegetables are treated with the upmost care by maintaining consistent trainings, records, and procedures with all of our students and staff the Student Run Farm. We ensure to keep up to date certifications and enforce standard operating procedures for produce safety.
Each of our students have undergone the full training through the Produce Safety Alliance. "The Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) is a collaboration between Cornell University, FDA, and USDA to prepare fresh produce growers to meet the regulatory requirements included in the United States Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule."
Learn more about this program at the site below:
https://cals.cornell.edu/produce-safety-alliance
Our Urban Agriculture student interns and staff also obtain a food handlers permit from the State Food Safety Organization. This food safety training provides students relevant knowledge about Kentucky food safety practices. We have selected responsible produce safety officers to oversee the food handling processes at the Student Run Farm.
Learn more about this program below:
https://www.statefoodsafety.com/food-handler
We ensure our farm techs are pesticide safety trained through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Each student has gone through an intensive private pesticide application training with the Kentucky Extension Service and Kentucky Department of Agriculture. We ensure only trained personell apply pesticides when necessary to the Student-Run Farm crops.
Learn more about this program below:
https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/content/ky-private-pesticide-applicator-page-ces-staff
Image from Student Interns and graduate students working together on cleaning and packaging cucumbers from the field at the Food Grade Safe Kitchen at the Harold Benson Demonstration Building July, 2025.