Kitchen Food Co. represents the largest job-creation announcement in Christian County in over 20 years

Editor’s note: To view the Governor’s Team Kentucky Update, click here.

FRANKFORT, KY - During his weekly Team Kentucky Update, Gov. Andy Beshear announced one of the largest job-creation projects in the commonwealth since the start of his administration as Kitchen Food Co., an Australia-founded premium ready-meals business, will locate a new world-class prepared foods facility in Hopkinsville with a $69 million investment creating 925 quality ongoing Kentucky jobs. This represents the single largest job-creation announcement in Christian County in over 20 years, and the fifth largest job-creation project statewide under the Beshear-Coleman administration.

The Governor also highlighted tourism development projects, unveiled the 2025 Official Kentucky Visitor’s Guide and recapped another record-breaking year for economic growth. First Lady Britainy Beshear provided an update on Winnie’s Christmas Book Club, a new online literacy resource available to Kentucky families and Kentucky State Police’s annual food drive. Gov. Beshear provided updates on Recovery Ready Communities, medical cannabis, the Moore Safe Nights program, funding for electric vehicle charging stations, rising cases of pertussis and interstate upgrades. The Governor named Santa Claus, along with everyone else working to make Christmas special this year, as this week’s Team Kentucky All-Star.

Economic Development
In addition to the Kitchen Food Co. announcement, the Governor highlighted exciting momentum within the state’s service and technology sector as Nexigen Communications LLC, a privately owned technology company specializing in managed services, cybersecurity, cloud services and AI enablement, will expand operations in Campbell County with a $4.35 million investment, creating 75 full-time jobs, with at least 43 of those being filled by Kentucky residents.

Gov. Beshear recapped another exciting step forward for the state’s agritech industry as Bosch Berries, an international grower and distributor of bell peppers, blackberries and strawberries, celebrated the grand opening of its new greenhouse operation in Pulaski County, a nearly $50 million investment that will create 28 full-time Kentucky jobs.

The Governor also highlighted that Kentucky has once again earned a strong placement in a ranking released by Site Selection magazine. The publication recently named its Top U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones, with Louisville and the Jefferson County Riverport Authority placing in the Top 10.

2024 Tourism Development Projects Set New All-Time Record
The Governor announced today that the state has approved 10 new tourism development projects that are set to generate an estimated $256 million in economic investment. These projects are also expected to create approximately 1,696 jobs once they become operational. This year marks the second straight record-breaking year for the most projects granted final approval in a single year by the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority since the tourism incentive was created in 1996. 

2025 Official Kentucky Visitor’s Guide
Gov. Beshear unveiled the 2025 Official Kentucky Visitor’s Guide. The publication is the official visitor’s guide for travel across our New Kentucky Home and serves as the state’s primary tourism advertising and promotional piece. Resources in the guide include everything a traveler needs to plan a trip in Kentucky, whether exploring regionally or by topic of interest. Readers can also find regional itineraries, travel tips and a variety of other helpful information for touring the commonwealth. 

Another Record-Breaking Year for Economic Growth
Gov. Beshear is wrapping up 2024 by celebrating the fourth best year in state history for economic investment with 170 private sector new-location and expansion announcements that total more than $6.9 billion in new investments bringing 9,425 new full-time jobs. With the 1,696 jobs created through tourism tax credits, that brings the total new jobs this year to over 11,100.

The Governor highlighted economic growth achievements and other milestones secured in 2024 for health care, public safety, infrastructure, tourism, education and more. For more, see the full release.

Winnie’s Christmas Book Club
Mrs. Beshear also shared “Winnie’s Christmas Book Club,” a list of picture books that would make great gifts for Kentucky kids this Christmas season. These include holiday books, Kentucky books and some of the Beshear family’s all-time favorite stories. The First Lady also encouraged buying from local bookstores and supporting Kentucky authors when shopping.

New Online Literacy Resource
As part of her commitment to Kentucky students, the First Lady announced that TeachingBooks is now available and free to use at all Kentucky schools and libraries throughout the commonwealth, as well as online from a laptop or cellphone. This website provides learning resources about approximately 100,000 books for children and young adults.

Kentucky State Police Annual Food Drive
The First Lady thanked Team Kentucky for their generosity in donating 204,262 pounds of food for Kentucky families in need through the Kentucky State Police’s annual statewide Cram the Cruiser food drive. The 2024 campaign collected over 42,000 more pounds of food than the previous year.

Three Counties Certified as Recovery Ready Communities 
The Governor announced that Floyd, Knott and Lawrence counties are now certified as Recovery Ready Communities, bringing the total number of certified counties to 21. Counties are recognized for having established services for residents who are seeking help for drug or alcohol addiction in three different categories – prevention, treatment and recovery support.  Floyd County District Court Judge Tyler Green and Martha Ellis, the County Public Health Director joined the Team Kentucky Update to discuss the importance of Floyd County’s certification.

Medical Cannabis
The Governor announced that as we wrap up 2024, Team Kentucky has licensed or selected all the medical cannabis businesses for the new program. The Office of Medical Cannabis will begin accepting applications for medical cannabis cards from Kentucky patients on Jan. 1, 2025; which is right on schedule.

The Governor said the state has currently registered over 220 doctors and APRNs across the commonwealth who can write certifications for Kentuckians suffering from qualifying medical conditions. Since Dec. 1, over 1,800 Kentuckians have visited one of the registered practitioners and received their written certification. See a breakdown of the conditions for which Kentuckians have received their certification. These Kentuckians will be eligible to apply for a medical cannabis card on or after Jan. 1, 2025. The application portal will be available at kymedcan.ky.gov.

“When I ran for Governor, it was my goal to provide health care access to Kentuckians – especially access that ensures our most vulnerable the freedom to choose medical cannabis as an alternative to dangerous and addictive opioids,” said Gov. Beshear. “In less than two weeks, we will deliver on that promise.”

Moore Safe Nights Program
The Governor provided an update on the “Moore Safe Nights” program, named after the late deaf and hard-of-hearing advocate Virginia Moore, that distributes free weather alert radios to deaf and hard-of-hearing Kentuckians for emergency alerts. Initially, this program provided 750 free weather alert radios. Today, the Governor announced that, thanks to a donation by Dr. Chris Dockins and the Community Foundation of West Kentucky, the program will now be able to provide 750 more radios, bringing the total to 1,500.

Awards to Build Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
Team Kentucky continues to lead the way in the fast-growing electric vehicle (EV) sector with a fourth round of awards to further expand the state’s EV charging network and bring reliable and convenient fast-chargers to travelers across the commonwealth. Six developers were selected to build an additional 11 federally funded fast-charging EV stations. In total, Kentucky has now approved 48 fast-charging stations from 11 developers for a total of $32.9 million in federal formula funds.

Public Health Update
Gov. Beshear provided an update on rising cases of pertussis in the commonwealth, also known as “whooping cough.” As of Dec. 18, there have been over 452 cases of this disease across 67 counties in the commonwealth. Pertussis is a bacterial infection that is highly contagious. The Governor encouraged Kentuckians to check with their doctor about receiving the pertussis vaccination, especially for vulnerable populations like infants and people who are immunocompromised or have preexisting respiratory issues.

The Governor also reminded Kentuckians that as we celebrate the upcoming holidays and come into the winter season, some of the best ways to reduce the spread of common illnesses are regular hand washing, covering your coughs and sneezes and simply staying home if you are sick.   

Interstate Upgrades
The Governor announced that the commonwealth now has 55 miles of new interstate. Team Kentucky has worked to upgrade 34 miles of the Edward T. Breathitt Pennyrile Parkway to interstate standards in Christian and Hopkins counties. The Federal Highway Administration has officially accepted that section of parkway into the national highway system as Interstate Highway 169. And in Graves, Hickman and Fulton counties, 21 miles of the Julian Carroll-Purchase Parkway has been upgraded and redesignated as Interstate Highway 69, extending the interstate from Mayfield to Fulton. This will provide better connections for families, businesses and future job growth in our New Kentucky home.

Team Kentucky All-Star
The Governor named Santa Claus, along with everyone else working to make Christmas special this year, as this week’s Team Kentucky All-Star.

“For this week’s Team Kentucky All-Star, we wanted to recognize someone who truly embodies the spirit of giving: Santa!,” said Gov. Beshear. “Santa brings so much joy to our kids across the commonwealth, not just with gifts, but with hope, kindness and a little bit of magic. Merry Christmas, Kentucky. We wish you a happy, healthy and safe celebration.”