Farm to Table grows with support from Kootenai Electric Cooperative
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 6 months, 1 week AGO
North Idaho State Fair staff and Kootenai Electric Cooperative Trust board members gather for a Feb. 24 check presentation of $2,500 from KEC to support the Farm to Table program. From left: Kerri Thoreson, Blake McLean, Brittney Ratzlaff, Hannah Booth, Alexcia Jordan, Connie Sumner-Kaupp and Garry Thompson.
Courtesy photo
The Kootenai County Fairgrounds is celebrating another successful year of its Farm to Table program and expressing gratitude to Kootenai Electric Cooperative for a recent $2,500 donation and longtime support of the program.
Last year's Farm to Table event exceeded expectations, fairgrounds officials said in a March 5 news release.
The 2025 event welcomed nearly 2,600 participants over four days, including students, teachers, chaperones, presenters and volunteers. A total of 66 fifth-grade classes attended from the Lakeland Joint, Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene school districts. Students rotated through nine hands-on educational stations focused on agriculture, including hydroponics, crop and meat production, regenerative grazing, bees and agricultural careers.
The late Linda Rider and the Idaho Farm Bureau co-founded the Farm to Table program in 2015. It continues to thrive thanks to the involvement of local farmers, ranchers, educators and volunteers who provide interactive learning experiences for students.
The program offers fifth graders a unique opportunity to explore where their food comes from, ask questions of local producers and gain a deeper understanding of Idaho agriculture and the industries that support it.
Support from community partners like Kootenai Electric Cooperative helps ensure the program continues to grow and reach more students each year. Their ongoing partnership has played an important role in sustaining agricultural education opportunities for local youth.
The Kootenai County Fairgrounds hosts the annual Farm to Table event as part of its mission to support agriculture, education and community engagement in North Idaho.
The 2026 Farm to Table program is happening in May, when hundreds of additional students will visit the fairgrounds to experience agriculture firsthand.
Visit kcfairgrounds.com for details.