STAFF REPORT
Glasgow News 1
As CheyAnne Fant prepares to retire from Barren County Schools, she has received statewide recognition.
The director of nutrition services has been named the recipient of the 2026 Kentucky Farm and Food Champion Innovator Award, according to a press release from the school district. This award “recognizes individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to advancing Kentucky’s local food systems through creativity, leadership, and innovative solutions.”
Fant said she is honored to receive this award.
“This recognition reflects the support of our schools, community partners, local farmers, and the Nutrition Services team,” she said in the press release. “I’m grateful to be part of work that helps connect students to agriculture and provides them with healthy, locally sourced food.”
This award was presented during the Kentucky Local Food Systems Summit, and Fant was recognized for her efforts to strengthen connections between local agriculture and school nutrition programs.
“Through partnerships with local farmers, producers, educators, and community organizations, she has expanded opportunities for students to learn about agriculture while increasing access to locally sourced foods in Barren County Schools,” the press release states.
Last April, Fant spoke to the school board about a $123,000 grant they received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She said these funds will go toward strengthening the district’s hands-on agriculture programs and Farm to School efforts, including the addition of two new greenhouses.
“This will increase our production capacity and have a deeper integration of locally grown food and student-grown food,” she said during that meeting, adding that two student co-op positions would also be created to help work the Farm to Table program.
“Barren County is a place of innovation,” Fant said. “We feel like this is one of our next big innovations.”
