SC Coastal Conservation League Newsletter - Fall 2018

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n Conserving land on the South Coast (pg. 5) n Protecting a rural community from a limestone mine (pg. 7) n Bolstering small farmers and a statewide food hub network (pg. 11) FA L L 2 0 1 8 | C O A S TA L C O N S E R VAT I O N L E A G U E |

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FA L L 2 0 1 8 VOL.29 • NO. 2

Laura Cantral, Executive Director

Programs

Lisa Jones-Turansky, Chief Conservation Officer Emily Cedzo, Land, Water & Wildlife Program Director Caroline Bradner, Land, Water & Wildlife Project Manager Jason Crowley, Communities & Transportation Program Director Betsy La Force, Communities & Transportation Project Manager Eddy Moore, Energy & Climate Program Director COLUMBIA Merrill McGregor, Director of Government Relations Alan Hancock, Energy & Climate Advocacy Director NORTH COAST Erin Hardwick Pate, Office Director SOUTH COAST Kate Parks Schaefer, Office Director Rikki Parker, Project Manager

GrowFood Carolina

Sara Clow, General Manager Jessica Diaz, Sales & Marketing Manager Danny Ferro, Warehouse Operations & Distribution Associate Shaunda Fifer, Sales Support Kevin Gilly, Warehouse Operations & Distribution Associate Austin Lucas, Warehouse Operations & Distribution Associate Deirdre McMahan, Sales Support Jeff Mitchell, Warehouse Operations & Distribution Associate Benton Montgomery, Operations Manager Leah Pedersen, Sales & Marketing Manager Alison Pierce, Sales & Marketing Manager Becca Watson, Farm Coordinator

Communications

Caitie Forde-Smith, Communications Director Jasmine Gil, Community Outreach Coordinator Andy Hollis, Data and GIS Analyst Diane Knich, Communications Associate

Development

Nancy Appel, Director of Development Kim Bowlin, Development Manager Stacie Loeffler, Development Manager Kati McArdle, Grants Manager

Offices

Administration

Tina Allen, Chief Financial Officer Erin Crouse, Accounting & Compliance Manager Minako Doyle, Bookkeeper Christine Gallina, Administrative Coordinator Reed Rayborn, Executive Assistant Jeanne Snell, Office Manager

Charleston

328 East Bay Street Charleston, SC 29401 843.723.8035

Beaufort

Board of Directors

1212 King Street Beaufort, SC 29902 843.522.1800

Charles M. Tarver, Chair Ceara Donnelley, Vice Chair John Thompson, Secretary Richard Schmaltz, Treasurer Johnston C. Adams J. Anderson Berly III Daniel W. Boone III P. Steven Dopp Kent Griffin Katharine Hastie

Columbia

1219 Assembly Street Suite 202 Columbia, SC 29201 803.771.7102/803.758.5800

Georgetown

709-B Front Street Georgetown, SC 29442 843.545.0403

GrowFood Carolina

990 Morrison Drive Charleston, SC 29403 843.727.0091 1 | C O A S TA L C O N S E R VAT I O N L E A G U E

COVER IMAGE: GrowFood Carolina partner Sidi Limehouse on his Johns Island farm Photograph by | Meg F A LHaywood L 2 0 1 8 Sullivan

Cynthia Kellogg Deborah Kennedy Kennard W. Jefferson Leath, Jr. Pierre Manigault Jim McNab Jeremiah Millbank III Lee Richards Margot T. Rose David Westerlund Stephen Zoukis

Dana Beach, Founder and Director Emeritus

Magazine

Braxton Crim, Designer Caitie Forde-Smith, Editor Diane Knich, Assistant Editor

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Friends, In July, Charleston County Council voted to compromise a successful conservation initiative—the Charleston County Greenbelt Program—by shifting $40 million from rural and farmland conservation, when growth pressures and the need to protect farms and forests are at an all-time high. According to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2017, the tri-county region of Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties added about 38 residents each day.

Rural land conservation is critically important to local agriculture. Initiatives like the Charleston County Greenbelt Program keep farmland productive and affordable and enable small farmers to remain on their land, ultimately feeding their communities. We cannot afford to move any money away from this important and critical endeavor and will continue to fight for rural land protection.

The Coastal Conservation League is doing our part to support local farmers and ensure that agricultural land use remains viable. In 2011, we recognized the need to save local farms and rural lands and started GrowFood Carolina, the state’s first local food hub. To date, GrowFood has sold more than $5.5 million in produce—returning $4.4 million of that back to family farmers and local producers.

Out of a once-abandoned warehouse in downtown Charleston, the food hub now partners with 85 producers on 2,500 acres of productive land, stretching from Beaufort to the Upstate. And under the leadership of General Manager Sara Clow, GrowFood has cultivated a statewide network of food hubs to increase collaboration and market opportunities for farmers—and save more productive land. (You can read more about the S.C. Food Hub Network on page 11.)

When local, state, or national governments, policies, or decisions fail us, it is up to the Conservation League and you to make a difference. I am glad you are involved in our efforts to protect valuable rural lands and our powerful work at GrowFood Carolina.

In the following pages, we focus on the importance of rural land conservation and spotlight the Conservation League’s leadership in this space. I hope you enjoy the read. Please reach out to me at laurac@scccl.org or (843) 723-7016.

Thanks for all you do,

Andy Hollis

Laura Cantral Executive Director

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GutterHollis Andy Credit

SNAPSHOT

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Rural Sea Islands Over Roads In October, the state’s Transportation Infrastructure Bank board reversed an earlier decision on the proposed extension of Interstate 526 and agreed to renegotiate a contract with Charleston County and the South Carolina Department of Transportation—so long as the county agreed to cover cost overruns of more than $300 million. This impromptu decision came after intense political pressure from Governor Henry McMaster and at the expense of our natural resources, local and statewide priorities, and taxpayers.

The Conservation League opposes the extension because it would harm wetlands, wildlife habitat and water quality in the Stono River and contribute to urban sprawl on rural Johns and Wadmalaw islands. We believe taxpayer dollars would be better spent on community-scaled projects that have been identified by residents as priorities to address traffic and flooding in the region now.

The bank board vote, and a later executive session by Charleston County Council with no opportunity for public comment, showcase why it is so important to have laws and policies that incorporate protective measures for our environment and our money. Politicians should never be able to shuffle around half a billion dollars or hold up important local projects when existing roads, bridges and intersections are in disrepair.

That’s why we work at the State House and locally to improve transportation laws and advocate for greater transparency and objective prioritization. The Conservation League is proud to stand with the sea islands and you, our supporters, as we fight this unpermitted road project.

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SOUTH COAST

Beaufort County Supports Land Conservation on the Ballot

cross Beaufort and Jasper Counties, clean waterways allow us to enjoy the outdoors, eat great seafood, and create a stronger sense of place for us and for incredible systems of wildlife, shorebirds and terrestrial animals. I do this work and I love my home because of these waterways and the landscapes that support them.

There’s more work to do. Beaufort and Jasper Counties’ charismatic landscapes offer enormous potential for land conservation, and, thus, clean water and livability. That means we must consider how changing, or developing that land, impacts the watershed—and how decline in water quality can be mitigated or prevented altogether as development pressures challenge the coast.

One tool to encourage land conservation is public investment. This November, with 70 percent of the vote, Beaufort County residents approved a referendum supporting continued land conservation and $25 million for the Rural and Critical Lands Program.

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A HISTORY OF SUCCESS

We support the program because of its long history and track record of success. Beaufort County was the first local government in the state to pass a publicly funded program for rural land protection, levied from property taxes. The Conservation League worked with partners to create the program and is proud to support it through the years. The program has been reauthorized four times and should continue again.

Since 1999, the program has protected more than 112 5

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properties and nearly 24,000 acres of productive farmland, open space, scenic vistas and wetlands.

The program is especially important for the rural areas, where working farms, forests, family lands and protected air space abound. The program is critical for the urban edges, where inappropriate growth threatens to change this rural landscape. Bindon Plantation and the Mobley Tract are prime examples of protected properties that were once threatened by inappropriate development until the program helped permanently protect them. Developing Bindon would have meant 1,300 houses and 500,000 square feet of commercial space on the edge of the ACE Basin, one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast. Bindon was protected with an easement in 2012. And before it was protected by the Rural and Critical Lands Program in 2016, the Mobley Tract was upzoned for 350 homes, which would have brought 650 cars and 6,500 trips per day to the S.C. Highway 170 corridor.

A 2018 economic impact analysis by the Trust for Public Land and Beaufort County Open Land Trust quantified the value of the program, and the results are stunning. Lands protected by the program naturally and effectively absorb storm and rainwater, saving Beaufort County taxpayers $27.4 million annually in stormwater fees. Parks, trails and open spaces can increase home values. Farms like Brickyard Point, protected by the program, provide fresh food to our community and habitat corridors for birds and wildlife.

Beaufort County’s 137 farms generate $28.3 million in agriculture product value. And acres of protected land buffer our military bases, which support 14,900 local defense jobs.

Caitie Forde-Smith

By Kate Schaefer • South Coast Office Director

SOUTH COAST GREENBELT IN PROGRESS Public and private partners have protected more than 1.2 million acres on the South Carolina coast. This land ethic is evident in the South Coast region, too. The green areas on this map are permanently protected by local, state and federal programs and private conservation and begin to form our regional greenbelt. To showcase the potential of future land conservation, we have highlighted existing developed areas, property within 500 feet of protected lands, and agricultural lands.

The potential for conservation shown on the map only scratches the surface of potential conservation efforts. We still have more work to do to create connected wildlife corridors, thriving agricultural areas, and healthy rural landscapes near our rivers.

Protected lands

Parcels within 500 ft of Protected Land

Andy Hollis

N E W S T R AT E G I C A N D S O U N D I N V E S T M E N T S

The South Coast is defined by the Port Royal Sound Watershed, saltwater rivers, healthy fisheries, rural farmland and thriving small towns. Our region is also defined by fast-paced development and is one of the fastest growing on the East Coast, growing more than 24 percent in the last decade, and transportation, congestion and growth issues affect daily life. To maintain balance between our natural resources, economic growth and quality of life, we must continue to invest in land protection.

Now that Beaufort County has passed the referendum, our work to support the program will continue as we engage elected officials, the Beaufort Open Land Trust and other partners to prioritize investment strategies and ensure $25 million is spent efficiently and strategically by leveraging loans, grants and donations.

We will also advocate for conservation easements on ru-

Agricultural Land

Developed Land

ral lands. Public funding sources like the Rural and Critical Lands Program typically protect lands through conservation easements on private property or outright purchases of public land. Easements are lower-cost investments that guarantee lands remain undeveloped in perpetuity while allowing rural landowners to own and remain living on their land. They can be designed to support agriculture and timber operations, provide hunting and wildlife habitat, or protect landscapes along rivers and marshes.

Finally, with tens of thousands of acres of undeveloped and ecologically critical land at stake, we must align the interests of Beaufort and Jasper County officials to develop a combined strategic plan that includes permanent land protection, as well as a regional financing and wetlands program. This will take leadership and diplomacy from all groups. But together, I know we can support development in appropriate places and form a vibrant rural greenbelt.

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NORTH COAST

Fighting for Family Land The Conservation League joins residents to fight off a proposed limestone mine.

By Diane Knich • Communications Associate

hristie Moore points to homes as she drives her SUV along Wheeler Road in the tiny community of Earle and tells stories about the people who live, or used to live, in them. She knows or is related to most of them. Some of her neighbors unwittingly sold their property recently to RDA, LLC, believing a sod farm was to be built on a nearly 1,000-acre tract adjacent to their land. They learned later that the company was planning a 20-year limestone mining operation on that property, which would involve pumping out groundwater, blasting to crumble the rock and a stream of truck traffic on the rural roads in Williamsburg County to remove the ground limestone.

“They couldn’t have picked a worse location,” Christie said of her quiet community of farms, homes and small businesses outside Andrews. She has spent her entire life in Earle, except for four years to attend college. Her parents live there. Her grandfather has a farm there. Her husband John grew up in Summerville but spent time in Earle as a child. He moved there as an adult to be near his grandparents. His family’s roots go back generations.

Christie is deeply worried about the mining operation that would forever change her community. In other places, such mines have created sinkholes that swallowed buildings and land, even a portion of a cemetery in one South Carolina town. Walls and foundations have cracked, wells have dried up and waterways have been polluted.

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‘ YO U ’ V E G O T T O F I G H T ’

“This is our family land,” she said, referring not just to the home and property she owns but also the entire community. “This is what we want to leave behind for our children. My grandparents and my husband’s grandparents wouldn’t have stood for this. They would have wanted us to fight.”

Christie and Billy Bruorton, a lifelong Earle resident who lives on land passed down from his great-grandfather, are two of hundreds of Earle and Andrews residents who have decided to fight the mine, which would be roughly bordered

by Wheeler, Seaboard and Tad roads and U.S. Highway 521.

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Both said help from the Coastal Conservation League, Winyah Rivers Foundation, SC Wildlife Federation and South Carolina Environmental Law Project (SCELP) has been invaluable, as they wait to learn if the state Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) will issue the permits required for the mine to move forward.

The Conservation League’s North Coast Office Director Erin Hardwick Pate has helped the community recruit partners, develop organizing strategies, coordinate a rally before a DHEC public hearing and draw media attention to the quarry. The Conservation League also hired a mining expert and toured a mine in nearby Jamestown to learn more about the impacts of various mining practices.

In September, SCELP, on behalf of the Conservation

RETRO

Andy Hollis

The mine threatens a small rural community in Williamsburg County and the Black River, home to the endangered Atlantic sturgeon.

League and the other environmental organizations, filed official notice with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of its intent to sue for violations of the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. The legal action came after a year of calling on state and federal agencies to comply with environmental laws and conduct a thorough and exhaustive review of the impacts associated with proposed limestone mining and processing facility.

The nearby Black River is home to the Atlantic sturgeon, an endangered species. Earle residents hope that if their concerns and opposition aren’t enough to stop the mine, the sturgeon will be able to get the job done.

The massive mining operation would be bad for the river, and inconsistent with the way of life in her community,

Christie said. She and her husband have three children, and the family spends a lot of time with aunts, uncles and cousins in the area. They use the Black River to swim and fish.

In the mining process, 7.5 million gallons of water per day would be pumped into Murray Swamp, which flows into the Black River. That brings tears to Christie’s eyes.

As a child, she would stop at PG&Y—a rural version of a convenience store run by Pete and Goldie Moore and their young’uns—buy a Coke and some peanuts, and then spend the day swimming in the Black River. She ended up marrying Pete and Goldie’s grandson. “That was glorious to me,” she said. “The Black River is my heart. Anything that might harm the Black River infuriates me.”

Everybody in Earle feels the same way, said Jonathan

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NORTH COAST

Miller, who represents the proposed mine-area on Williamsburg County Council. None of his constituents support the mine, including a community made up largely of black families that have been living along Tad Road on the edge of the proposed mine for generations. “They don’t want it,” he said. “They are afraid their way of life is over.

The quiet. The serenity.”

The families on Tad Road don’t own large farms, he said.

They mostly own several acres and work at various jobs to get by. He’s concerned about what will happen to them if the mine opens, he said, because most of them can’t afford to move. “Where do you go? You’re stuck there. You’ll raise your family next to a site where there’s blasting and trucks going in and out.”

He is leading efforts to move County Council to adopt ordinances that would place limitations on mining operations. Currently, Williamsburg County has no zoning and no authority to curtail environmental destruction caused by mines. He is also encouraging those families to fight, he said, but many of them question whether it will do any good. “It seems to them like the deck is stacked against them,” he said. “But you’ve got to fight. Who knows? You might land a lucky blow.”

B E CO M I N G AC T I V I STS

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Clockwise from top: Christie Moore shares a photo of her children.

She fears a mine will wreck the Black River and quality of life; Earle and Andrews residents protest against the mine ahead of a DHEC hearing; Billy Bruorton surveys land in Earle acquired by RDA, LLC.

wants to pass land to his children in the same condition it was passed down to him, and his family’s hunting guide business would suffer if the mine opened and tainted the land. But thoughts of the daily problems he would encounter if the mine opened next door overwhelm him. His cousin sold a piece of property to RDA that lies between Billy’s land and Wheeler Road. The mining company would have to pass through his land to get from its newly acquired parcel to the larger mine property.

He’s held many meetings about the mine at his home and spoke at the group’s first gathering in July 2017 at Earles Pentecostal Holiness Church. The group has grown since then, and opponents have planted “No Limestone Mining” and “Stop the Quarry!” signs all over Earle and Andrews.

The Conservation League is committed to standing in solidarity with Earle residents. We will help them in their current battle and explore new fronts with them if the paths they are on now are unable to stop the mine.

Christie also pointed to the yard signs as she drove along Wheeler Road. She’s proud of her community even though she’s worried. She stopped her SUV near U.S. 521, at a small cemetery near the edge of the mine site. Her husband’s infant brother is buried there, along with many of his ancestors. She thinks she owes it to them, and all the ancestors buried in Earle, to fight to keep the land safe. “They left us land. It’s their legacy. It’s up to us to take care of it now.”

Clockwise: Diane Knich; Caitie Forde-Smith

Christie is hoping for that kind of luck. When she learned RDA was planning to build a limestone mine, she started doing some research. She didn’t like what she learned about the possible negative consequences for her community.

And her fears were fueled by older family members and friends who remember a similar quarry opening in nearby Jamestown in the 1980s. They told stories about sinkholes, wells drying up, property damage, noise, dust and traffic.

She launched a Facebook group to share her findings and interest took off. She chuckles at being called an activist as she conducts her research on her iPad from her living room couch. It’s a new role. “I’m quiet. I usually keep to myself and focus on my family.”

Billy, who owns property adjacent to the mine, is the opposition group’s spokesman. He has a lot at stake. He too

A Wholly Admirable Thing In a new book to be published this December, Virginia and Dana Beach chronicle 10 stories that showcase the rise of the Coastal Conservation League to one of the country’s most tenacious and innovative conservation groups. The book highlights transformational initiatives undertaken by the Conservation League over three decades in partnership with community activists up and down the South Carolina coast. It is a tale of formidable alliances of courageous citizens, standing up for wild species and human communities so that all can thrive and endure. A launch party and book signing for A Wholly Admirable Thing will be held on Tuesday, December 11 at the Charleston Library Society at 6 p.m. You can RSVP by calling (843) 723-9912.

PRE-ORDER THE BOOK NOW! Use the envelope included in this newsletter, call (843) 958-7367 or visit https://evepostbooks.com/product/pre-order-a-wholly-admirable-thing/.

When pre-ordering, you may request a personal inscription by the authors.

AndyHaywood Meg Hollis Sullivan

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Seven Years, Three Stories & One Statewide Network Later...

By Caitie Forde-Smith Communications Director

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Clockwise from left: Farmers from across South Carolina deliver fresh fruit and vegetables to GrowFood Carolina’s Charleston warehouse; To expand the community’s access to local food, General Manager Sara Clow forges new partnerships, including with Lowcountry Street Grocery.

A M OV E M E N T B E G I N S

About that same time, almost seven years ago and 219 miles away, GrowFood Carolina was born in an abandoned warehouse in downtown Charleston. The Coastal Conservation League envisioned a local food hub as a means to save productive rural land from development—a threat to the working landscape and the rural economy. Between 1992 and 1997, more than 200 acres in South Carolina changed daily from farmed land to urban uses.

The state’s first food hub started small, working with five growers on 32 acres. Today, under the leadership of General Manager Sara Clow, GrowFood works with 85 farmers on 2,500 acres, stretching from the Upstate to Beaufort.

GrowFood distributes to customers in Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Columbia, Greenville and Savannah, delivering local fruit, vegetables and pantry staples to colleges and corporate campuses, natural and independent grocers, and more than 300 restaurants. Drivers make near-daily rounds to the hippest places in town—the kitchens of James Beard Award winners, breweries, food trucks, and hip pizza joints.

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F I L L I N G A VO I D

Pizza. That’s what Mary Walsh is thinking about when she talks about Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery’s role in the local food system. As GrowFood got started and Sallie settled down with her now-husband, Brent, Mary opened Swamp Rabbit with her friend, Jac Oliver. Mary and Jac met as colleagues at Upstate Forever, a conservation nonprofit based in Greenville.

Back then, there wasn’t a grocer that served as a direct outlet for locally grown food—or a grocer that people could get to easily by bike or using their own two feet. Mary and Jac aimed to fill that void, opening Swamp Rabbit near a popular bike and pedestrian trail. Then, they added a café to serve made-from-scratch pastries and bread.

“If Sallie has a bunch of extra okra, we’re going to find a way to sell that okra,” Mary said. At Swamp Rabbit, Mary and Jac host classes for shoppers who are less familiar with the crop and how to cook it, or they sell it on pizza.

To date, Swamp Rabbit has returned more than $2.5 million to local farmers. “We consciously put people over profit,” Mary said. “We make intentional decisions to put money back into the hands of farmers.”

YO U N G FA R M E R S

“I can’t tell you how many iterations of farming we’ve been through,” Sallie joked. Though Brent and Sallie had grown up in farming families, launching Thicketty Mountain Farms was a practice in trial-and-error and in patience.

Ultimately, the pair settled on vegetables and pasture-raised beef. They grow their vegetables on four acres in Cowpens, a town of 2,235 near Spartanburg that is home to an American Revolutionary War-era battlefield. The same families have owned the same land in Cowpens for

Meg Haywood Sullivan

It

wasn’t too long ago that Sallie Hambright-Belue was living in Brooklyn, googling what kind of animals she could have in her brownstone apartment.

“This is not gonna work,” she told herself.

She packed up her things and moved home to her family’s farm in Gaffney, South Carolina.

That’s where her old friend from high school, Brent, found Sallie building chicken coops and stamping fence posts. “Brent showed up and said, ‘What in the world is all this?’ I told him I wanted to farm.”

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FIVE HUBS

Years ago, Sallie met Sara at a conference in the Upstate, where representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture led a discussion on regional food systems. Now, the two women serve together on a new Farm Bureau committee focused on the needs of diversified agriculture producers. Sallie knew well the impact GrowFood was already having on local producers. She wanted in.

A 2013 study, “Making Small Farms into Big Business,” conducted by the state’s Department of Agriculture, Clemson University, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, the Coastal Conservation League and others demonstrated 15

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that food hubs are a critical component to cultivating a sustainable local food system and economy.

After the study’s release, Sara got to work on GrowFood’s behalf. She led efforts to form a collaborative statewide network, which would convene established hubs together to advance a common vision of a relationship-based food system that provides farmers with necessary resources and markets to succeed and people greater access to local food.

The vision was to increase the efficiency of the local food system by working with hubs to coordinate regional crop planning, logistics and farmer training. Each hub would work with individual farmers near them—from planning and harvest to sales and delivery, and the network would increase the capacity of existing and future hubs.

In 2017, Sara’s vision was realized when five hubs organized to align missions: Catawba Farm and Food Coalition in York, City Roots in Columbia, Pee Dee Food Hub in Marion, and Swamp Rabbit Café and Grocery in Greenville, and GrowFood Carolina in Charleston.

“Sara put the work in and filled a need for our community.

We’ve learned a lot from her,” Mary said.

“It was really helpful that GrowFood’s model was already working. You always learn best when you can learn from people who work directly with farmers.”

Clockwise from left: Swamp Rabbit; Meg Haywood Sullivan; Meg Haywood Sullivan; Meg Haywood Sullivan; Ian Curcio; Meg Haywood Sullivan

generations. “I love it,” Sallie said.

Since its beginning, Thicketty Mountain Farms has sold to Mary and Jac at Swamp Rabbit. They started with eggs, and now the farm store features Thicketty Mountain vegetables and beef. Their relationship is built on trust.

“We are all in this because we believe it is the right thing to do. We believe you should support small farms. We believe you should eat food that’s local and sustainably grown,” Sallie said. “They know that when I say I want to do something, I’m going to make it happen. And I know they will do everything they can to support me.”

Clockwise from top left: In 2011, Mary Walsh (left) and Jac Oliver launched Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery in Greenville; Green Heart partners tend to a garden at GrowFood; Sara makes a local delivery; the GrowFood team receives and distributes fresh peaches; Sallie Hambright-Belue and her husband, Brent, manage Thicketty Mountain Farms; GrowFood makes daily rounds to 200 restaurants in and around Charleston.

T O M AT O S E A S O N

Travis never wants tomato season to end. The summer heat usually exhausts his Lowcountry supply by early July. But this year, thanks to the statewide network, Travis kept local tomatoes on his menu longer.

He credits GrowFood’s team for traveling the state, meeting with farmers and building relationships that yeild a long list of produce, dairy, eggs and grains. “GrowFood has made my life easier and pushed local food forward,” he said.

The list Travis orders from five days a week has grown significantly in the last year, both in the number of products offered and their geographic diversity. He still remembers the very first list he received from GrowFood, after Sara walked into Husk on a cold sales call. The chef ordered everything he could.

“Partnering with GrowFood has been better than I could have ever imagined. We created a market for farmers that did not exist. Whether we planned this out or not, we are working together for the greater good,” he said.

K E E P G R OW I N G

‘ I O N LY WA N T T O S E L L T H I S WAY ’

Swamp Rabbit now purchases local products from 200 farms in the Upstate, along with regional produce from two hubs in North Carolina, City Roots and GrowFood.

Mary and Jac just bought a vehicle for deliveries, which will increase their engagement with wholesale customers.

Sallie says the network’s first year has arrived with a learning curve. She and Brent are still mastering the best way to pack produce that will go further from home, and better planning for a diverse harvest.

For example, this year, after consulting the hubs, Thicketty Mountain planted more cauliflower than kale, a successful switch to meet customer demand. Next year, the farm will work to perfect its vegetable program and make more specific changes based on seasonality. “We are starting to use our land more productively. Where we used to have two acres sit for a whole year, or use cover crop, we are now planting on every acre, every season,” she said.

The mother of two and full-time professor at Clemson is also happier selling to one buyer instead of 20. Thicketty Mountain vegetables now leave the farm for Swamp Rabbit’s warehouse, and then head south to chefs like Travis Grimes, the executive chef at Husk in Charleston.

The statewide network received another important vote of confidence—this time from the state’s Department of Agriculture, which just awarded $175,000 to the network.

“Consumer demand for fresh, local produce and products is at an all-time high, and yet, distribution obstacles often prevent local food from moving into the marketplace,” South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers said.

“The South Carolina Food Hub Network is a critical link between local farmers and consumers, and an important resource for growers all over the state. The Agribusiness Center for Research and Entrepreneurship (ACRE) is pleased to support the South Carolina Food Hub Network to assist coordination, efficiency and opportunity for its five participating hubs.”

Eight miles down the road from Thicketty Mountain, the demand for local food is growing. Residents of Spartanburg have painted a mural downtown dedicated to local producers and organized a local food coalition. In Sallie’s mind, the time for feasibility studies is up. “They all come back with the same conclusion: There is a ton of demand for local food. We are ready for that demand to reach small farmers.”

She believes the statewide network is the way to do it. Mary agrees and credits their food hub neighbor in Charleston for making it happen. “The passion Sara brings to the whole local food movement is inspiring and impressive, and she’s turning that passion into real results. All of GrowFood’s hard work has been put into action.”

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GROWFOOD CAROLINA

Room to Grow and Give Back Donors help GrowFood Carolina purchase a refrigerated shipping container.

By Sara Clow • GrowFood Carolina General Manager

even years ago, the Coastal Conservation League launched GrowFood Carolina to conserve rural land by restoring economic prosperity to South Carolina vegetable producers.

Back then, GrowFood was a big idea, and I unloaded trucks, made sales calls and delivered produce using my own car.

Today, the state’s first food hub employs a dozen staff members and serves more than 300 restaurants, retailers and institutions with fresh products that are guaranteed to be local. Our warehouse, located on Morrison Drive in Charleston, is stocked year-round with food from 85 farmers, stretching from Beaufort County to the Upstate.

As GrowFood has grown, so have our farmers’ busi-

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nesses. This spring, our three coolers were bursting, and we needed more space—an excellent problem to have!

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, it was also an easy one to solve.

We asked members of our community to donate to help us purchase a refrigerated shipping container or “reefer.”

A reefer is an effective way to facilitate more cold storage without using critical warehouse space, providing 400 more square feet of room.

For us, the container represents a 20 percent increase in storage space and additional opportunities to help South Carolina’s small farmers. By storing and distributing more goods, we hope producers can increase the amount of acreage they plant and diversify their crops. This will result in the cultivation of more rural farmland and local products in restaurants and grocery stores—and our continued pursuit to help guarantee access to fresh, local food in our underserved communities.

According to Feeding America, one in seven South Carolinians are considered food insecure. One in five kids in this state go hungry. As one of our mission-driven projects, GrowFood Carolina is teaming up with partners like Lowcountry Food Bank and Lowcountry Street Grocery to bring fruits, vegetables and pantry staples to those who need it most.

The 40-foot reefer, now nestled between our warehouse bay doors and garden, is a good step in the right direction toward strengthening a statewide food system.

Today, the reefer is packed with South Carolina-grown hard squash and pasture-raised eggs, and there is more room to grow—both at our warehouse in downtown Charleston and in our critical support role for the state’s producers and eaters. As GrowFood Carolina expands, so can local growers, dairy farmers, beekeepers, and millers.

An investment in GrowFood is an investment in them and in our state’s valuable farmland.

Caitie Forde-Smith

The shipping container or “reefer” provides 400 more square feet of space at our Charleston warehouse, representing a 20 percent increase in storage and additional opportunities to help South Carolina’s small farmers.

SNAPSHOT

Clockwise: Caitie Forde-Smith; Kristy Collins

Life of the Party This spring, Coastal Conservation League and SCELP staff and supporters paddled to Captain Sams Spit to celebrate a recent Supreme Court ruling blocking plans for a proposed road to the pristine beach.

Afterwards, the party continued at Rosebank Farms, where we awarded farmer Sidi Limehouse with the Jane Elizabeth Lareau Environmental Stewardship Award. The honor is given annually to an individual, business or organization that embodies the energy, spirt and courage of the Conservation League’s late co-founder, Jane Lareau. Sidi is a native who has farmed on Johns Island his entire adult life. He is a GrowFood Carolina partner farmer and passionate advocate for Captain Sams.

Surfers • Advocates • Volunteers • Teachers • Students • Scientists Explorers • Lawmakers • Business Owners • Chefs • Farmers Foodies • Boaters • Birders • Brewers • Beachgoers • Locals Transplants • Conservatives • Liberals • Anglers • Doctors Policy Wonks • Parents • Techies • Artists

YOU Join a community of conservationists and do your part to protect South Carolina’s natural resources and coastal communities.

Donate to the Coastal Conservation League.

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OUT AND ABOUT

Clockwise: Andy Hollis; Caitie Forde-Smith

Clockwise from top left: In June, the Coastal Conservation League joined a diverse group of community members and organizations in Charleston County to launch Fix Flooding First, an initiative urging action on flooding. The Preservation Society’s Kristopher King (left) and John Wright of the African American Settlement Community Historic Commission (center) joined Laura Cantral at the launch’s press conference.

GrowFood’s Alison Pierce (right) won a strawberry-eat-

ing contest hosted by BoomTown to celebrate Eat Local Month in April.

Energy and Climate Advocacy Director Alan Hancock and Adam Silvernail were married in Columbia in June. From left: Michael Covington, Merrill McGregor, Alan Hancock, Adam Silvernail, Eddy Moore, Ann Timberlake and Patty Pierce.

In response to Hurricane Florence, we partnered with the Lowcountry Food Bank to organize volunteers to distribute food and water to 1,500 people in Kingstree.

Clockwise from top: In August, volunteers joined the Conservation League and Lowcountry Land Trust to build an oyster-shell reef just off Wadmalaw Island. These “living shorelines” improve water quality and erosion control and create habitat for marine animals and plants.

The Conservation League, Oceana and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy rallied on Folly Beach in May for Hands Across the Sand. The event demonstrated resistance to the Trump Administration’s

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proposal to bring offshore oil and gas drilling to South Carolina’s coast.

On July 27, residents and families who live on Daniel Island, but work or visit downtown joined Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, the City of Charleston’s Director of Traffic and Transportation, Keith Benjamin, and other local leaders to commute on the water for Boat to Work Day. The Daniel Island Ferry, which will launch regular service in early 2019, was full of people who want alternative ways to get to work.

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Clockwise: Lowcountry Land Trust; Southern Alliance for Clean Energy; Caitie Forde-Smith

OUT AND ABOUT

Dover, Kohl & Partners

Pedal What You Preach Three members of our team—Jason Crowley, Betsy La Force and Rikki Parker—biked 150 miles from Mount Pleasant to Savannah in the days leading up to the annual Congress for New Urbanism conference. The alternative transportation trio explored vibrant and walkable neighborhoods, unique landscapes, and culture and life along the way.

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he mission of the Coastal Conservation League is to protect the threatened resources of the South Carolina coastal plain—its natural landscapes, abundant wildlife, clean water, and quality of life—by working with citizens and government on proactive, comprehensive solutions to environmental challenges.

P.O. Box 1765 Charleston, SC 29402-1765

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit No. 168 Charleston, SC

For more information about the Coastal Conservation League, visit coastalconservationleague.org.

Gutter Credit

“Spend time in nature.” That’s the advice Johns Island resident Nora Kravec shared after capturing this bumble bee in her backyard.

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