Historically Black Kentucky State University in Frankfort has unveiled what it says is the nation’s first fruit and vegetable mobile processing unit. The vehicle is a certified mobile commercial kitchen that can travel to farms and be used to process fresh fruits into jams and jellies. The unit has the capability to blast freeze fruit and vegetables that can then be transported to grocery stores, restaurants, and other food outlets.
The unit can travel to small limited-resource farms that are often not served by traditional cooperative extension programs. This allows these small farmers to process their goods for sale at venues other than local farmers’ markets.
The Kentucky State University fruit and vegetable mobile processing unit was made possible by grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund.