By Justin Begley Staff Writer

October 5, 2022

ARH recently donated $10,000 to help the Johnson Central High School FFA program establish a container garden project through AppHarvest.

Johnson Central High School’s FFA class will be opening a container farm thanks in part to a $10,000 donation from ARH to the AppHarvest foundation. The donation was announced in a ceremony at JCHS on Sept. 28.

The container farm comes in part from the 2022 Department of Labor Workforce Opportunities and Rural Communities Grant that was awarded to Maysville Community and Technical College.

Lenny Kenny, director of the Workforce and Economic Department of MCTC, said the farm represents a win-win.

“Agriculture feeds us all, so anything we can do to help teach communities how to produce more food and less waste, is a win for everyone,” said Kenny.

Kenny said they were proud to help contribute funds that went toward equipment that made the container farm possible.

“The grant also provides the test fees for 20 high school students to take the ICUB test. These tests help prepare the students for the future of agriculture education and for their hands-on work experience,” said Kenny.

Sheena Blair, an agricultural science teacher at JCHS, has been overseeing the container farm project for several years.

“It has been a very long process,” said Blair.

Blair said it has been an amazing experience to take her students and show them how to plant the seed and follow the process all the way unto harvesting the product.

“Not only have they been able to experience this project hands-on, but they have also been able to go to the hospital at ARH and see the business side of this also,” said Blair.

The container farm will be working alongside ARH providing them with produce like lettuce which will be provided to patients at the hospital at their salad bar.

According to Blair, the cafeteria in JCHS will also be purchasing their lettuce, as seniors from the FFA class take their produce to the farmers market each Tuesday to sell what they’ve grown.

Monica Daniels, principal of the Johnson Central Career and Technical Center, said it was nearly 20 years ago when they started reshaping their vision for what the future could hold for their students by providing them a wide array of skills, pathways and opportunities to prepare them for future success.

“Today we operate one of the largest CTE in the state, offering nearly 30 career pathways, which are among the most in the state of Kentucky,” said Daniels.

Daniels said they host some of the brightest and most talented students in the state which is reflected by the many accomplishments in their student leadership, academics and athletic programs.

“Our FFA program has always been a shining star among those,” said Daniels. “When presented with this opportunity to partner with AppHarvest and put a container farm on our campus, we were quick to pursue something of this magnitude to help our students gain experience in such an exciting field.”

Noel Crum, former Principal of JCHS and current assistant superintendent, said the school has had one of the strongest agricultural programs in Eastern Kentucky.

“I’ve watched a lot of schools around us drop their agricultural programs,” said Crum. “It’s been said it is no longer a viable pathway for students, but we are dedicated to giving our students as many pathways as possible and as we add new pathways we do not remove the ones that have always been there.”

Crum said that, thanks to AppHarvest, they are now seeing the future of agricultural technology right before their eyes.

Sonya Bergman, vice president of Human Resources on behalf of ARH, presented a check for $10,000 to AppHarvest to help support and maintain the container farm project.

Lead photo: Paintsville Herald photo by Justin Begley