Madisonville North Hopkins High School has won the inaugural Best School Garden Salsa Challenge at the Kentucky State Fair. The announcement was made by Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell, who praised the students for their efforts. “What’s not to love about salsa?!,” said Commissioner Shell. “But more important than the delicious, fresh recipes these students made, are the lessons they learned. This contest provides students with the skills to grow their own food, work together as a team, and produce something delicious from it. Congratulations to everyone who participated.”
The competition marked the beginning of All in for Ag Education Week, scheduled for September 15-19. This event is a collaboration between the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA), the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, and the Kentucky Department of Education. Schools across Kentucky were invited by KDA’s Ag Education and Outreach Division to cultivate salsa ingredients in school gardens and create unique recipes for judging at the fair.
Students primarily used produce grown in their school gardens over the summer, supplemented by local products or items not easily grown in Kentucky, such as limes. Judges from the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service evaluated entries based on food safety and preparation guidelines before final selections were made by Commissioner Shell, Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman, and Education Commissioner Robbie Fletcher.
The winning team from Madisonville North Hopkins included FFA members Lilli Norman, Kelcie Greer, Hadley Webb, Keeley Peyton, Riley Peyton, and Alex Garrott. Their recipe, Kernel and Comb Creation Roasted Sweet Corn Salsa with Honey Fresh [source](https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article245065115.html), featured jalapenos, Roma tomatoes, sweet corn grown in their garden, bell peppers, honey from school hives [source](https://www.uky.edu/Ag/Horticulture/salsa.html), and cumin.
As winners, Madisonville North Hopkins will receive a VIP visit during Ag Education Week. Eight teams participated this year; other schools included Bondurant Middle School [source](https://www.frankfort.kyschools.us/bondurantmiddleschool_home.aspx), Nancy Elementary School [source](https://www.pulaski.net/6/home), Highland Middle School [source](https://www.jefferson.kyschools.us/schools/profiles/highland-middle-school), Jones Middle School [source](https://jonesmiddle.org/), Menifee County Middle School [source](http://menifee.k12.ky.us/2/Home), Pride Elementary School [source](http://pride.breck.kyschools.us/), and Butler County High School [source](http://bchs.butler.kyschools.us/). Highland Middle brought around 700 students to support its team at the fair while Pride Elementary added a musical element with a song about salsa.
Information from this article can be found here.
