Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Wouldn't it be great if the carrots in the field in Pelion ended up in your kids cafeteria? A new farm-to-school program is designed to make that happen.
From carrots and corn to collards and cabbage, Matt Warren works for a farm in Pelion that grows just about everything.
"Agriculture is one of the No. 1 income producers for our state," said Warren. And now a new program promises to keep what's grown in South Carolina here in South Carolina.
"There's a value to supporting our local farms," Warren said. It's called the Farm to Schools Program, and at a workshop at the Farmers Market, Midlands leaders worked on the pilot program.
"And by bringing together those partners, we hope to have a lot of discussion on where we are now and where we can go," said Holly Harring, South Carolina's Farm-to-School coordinator. The program has a $1.6 million grant from The Center for Disease Control. One of its biggest goals is education.
"I see principals and teachers telling me that their students think their food comes from Hardee's or the local convenience store, because they don't have that appreciation for farm to fork," said Harring.
The plan is for Farm-to-Schools to integrate food nutrition education, field trips to farms, and even school gardens. Schools involved will have to purchase and use two produce items on their lunch menu while adding a nutrition curriculum.
"So I think by bringing this local produce into the school systems, we are going to develop an appreciation in our students as to, 'This is where my food comes from. Agriculture is so cool and so necessary,'" said Harring.
Right now, Harring says they are using program coordinators in the Upstate, Midlands, and Lowcountry to help schools and farmers.
"We're gonna launch it and keep good records and keep good logs and see what's working and how we can build this program so it becomes a permanent infrastructure in South Carolina," said Harring.
Farmers like Warren say the program is a win-win for his farm and the students.
"It shows the produce they buy in their store was grown here locally." Right now, no schools are currently involved in the farm to school program just yet, but they say they are still weeding through applications and hope to have the program kicked off by August. For more information you can check the Farm-To-School website at: http://www.farmtoschool.org/SC/