Farm to You

South Carolina Grown

A sunny, temperate climate and rich variety of regions—from coastal plain to mountain— combine to deliver a hyper-productive yearlong growing season in our state. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) works to promote this abundance of regionally grown produce through its Certified SC Grown initiative. Find out what our farmers are growing right now on the SCDA easy-to-access web page, What’s in Season.

Charleston farmers markets and stores like Earth Fare, Whole Foods Market and Harris Teeter are good places to shop for regional products.

Fresh on the Menu

Restaurants that source 25% or more ingredients from local farms and producers are eligible to apply for the Fresh on the Menu designation from the South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Certified SC Grown initiative. Hop here to find out if your favorite eatery is on the list!

By choosing to dine at these restaurants, you support them and the farmers who supply their kitchens.

Our local farmers need our support now more than ever, thanks to Covid19 upending life in general and, in particular, the restaurant industry—the incubator of the farm-to-table movement. CSA’s are changing the landscape of bringing food to the table by providing a market for small farmers and a source, for the rest of us, that literally gets us back to our roots.

I’ve added the Fresh on the Menu logo to each restaurant with the designation to my Food + Bev posts on sweetgrass + grits. For a complete list of Fresh on the Menu properties spanning the entire state, visit the official agriculture department site.

Community Supported Agriculture

Fill your fridge with fresh, locally grown product by pairing up with a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) group that brings a farm’s weekly harvest (practically) to your doorstep. The beauty of joining a CSA is that you’re buying, directly from the farmer, produce that’s fresher and tastier because it’s been small-batch grown and delivered within hours of being picked. All, well within a hundred miles of Charleston—eliminating cross country shipping and the middleman, as well.

I chose The Twenty Bag from a list of Lowcountry CSA’s published in the Charleston City Paper and look forward, every Monday, to the surprises the latest bag of organic goodies has in store for my kitchen. I love the convenience, and cooking has become more of an adventure, thanks to the seasonality of each bag’s selection. Hop to My Twenty Bag to see what the season’s eats are—and what to do with them!