South Eastern Wildlife Expo and Local Food
As the 32nd annual South Eastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) wraps up and the throngs of visitors return home, Marion Square seems quieter than normal. This past weekend an estimated 40,000 visitors experienced annual favorites such as Awendaw’s Birds of Prey flight demos, the Dock-Dogs competition, television personality Jack Hanna, and beautiful art exhibitions. In addition to shows, many local representatives set up booths advertising everything from ecotourism opportunities, such as the hiking the Palmetto Trail and Charleston Kayaking tours, to outdoor furniture.
Perhaps just as anticipated by the young and old alike was the chance to sample food from local vendors and growers. In the past seven years, the demand for local food has increased dramatically in South Carolina. Membership in the Certified South Carolina program, administered by S.C.’s Department of Agriculture, has “exploded from only sixty in 2007 to more than 1200 farmers, processors, wholesalers, and retailers” said writer Joanie Stiers. But it does not stop there. Two similar programs, know as Fresh on the Menu and Farm to School, encourage restaurants and schools respectively to also promote local foods. Currently more than 300 restaurants have agreed to include as least 25% Certified S.C. Foods on their menus and nearly 100 schools have earned grants to help them purchase more local food for schoolchildren.
Even if these programs only encouraged local food consumption, the economic and community benefits would outweigh the costs. Nonetheless, in addition to contributing to the local job economy, they promote healthy food choices and fundamentally reconnect us to the food production process through hands-on learning. For the City of Charleston, annual events such as SEWE provide an ideal educational platform to showcase the advantages of “being local.” In addition to SEWE, Charleston offers more frequent events such as the Marion Square Farmer’s Market (beginning April 12th) that also encourage the growing local movement. Our own Office of Sustainability is working constantly and is always on the lookout for project ideas.
If you have an idea you would like to work on, we offer grants up to $2000 and would love to work with you to move your project to fruition.Please visit our webpage at: https://sustainability.cofc.edu/index.php or contact our coordinator, Jen Jones at jejones2@cofc.edu. Hope to hear from you soon!
-Craig Bennett