School systems across York, Lancaster, and Chester counties in South Carolina are participating in the Certified SC Cafeteria program launched this year by the state Department of Agriculture. The initiative is backed by US$1 million in annual funding approved by the S.C. General Assembly and is designed to increase the share of locally grown fruit and vegetables served in school cafeterias.
The program includes an online platform enabling schools to communicate anticipated crop demand directly to farms. Across the state, 68 school districts, representing nearly 900 cafeterias, have enrolled.
"This is going to be great for kids," said Beth White of Black's Peaches in York County. "This is going to be better food for them, support the economy, and maybe encourage people to farm."
The state-funded initiative follows the cancellation of the federal farm-to-school program, which had allocated US$15.2 million to South Carolina before being discontinued last year. Local growers were affected by the loss of that funding stream.
South Carolina producers have also faced weather and plant health challenges. In April 2024, a microburst with hail impacted Rock Hill, affecting crops at Black's Peaches. "It wiped out our strawberry crop, our peach crop, our tomato crop, all our vegetables that we had planted at the time," White said. "Never seen anything like it in my life. In 20 minutes, we probably had six inches of golf ball-sized hail outside our door." The farm reported recovery in 2025 after several years of weather-related impacts.
In Chester County, Cotton Hills Farm is preparing to supply strawberries to participating districts. Growers have reported pressure from Neopestalotiopsis, a fungal disease affecting strawberry transplants. "The strawberry plants we get are clippings, and so you have to get new plants every year," said Jeb Wilson of Cotton Hills Farm. "This disease came into the greenhouses, and it's just been devastating to the strawberry industry. We had to change suppliers because last year, 80 per cent of our plants collapsed and died, and there was nothing we could do about it."
Producers note increased consumer engagement with local produce in recent years, including on-farm purchases during the pandemic period. "People really just wanted to get back to the farm and get their hands out there and see how it's being grown," Wilson said.
The Certified SC Cafeteria program aims to link school demand with in-state fruit and vegetable production while supporting local farm supply chains.
Source: The Post and Courier
