Aiken Electric Cooperative CEO Gary Stooksbury, Aiken County Council Chairman Ronnie Young, USDA Acting State Director Michele Cardwell, developer Wayne Tilson, Construction Associates President Marc Beaman and Jackson Mayor Todd Etheredge break ground for Jackson’s new Morning Fresh Market IGA in February 2017.
Photo by Stuart Walker
What’s for supper tonight?
For many people, stopping by the store on the way home to pick up fresh ingredients for dinner is fairly routine. But for some, just getting to a grocery store is expensive and time-consuming. In areas and neighborhoods that can’t support supermarkets, gas stations and convenience stores have become the primary local option for food shopping, making it nearly impossible to put together meals that include healthy, fresh ingredients.
Referred to as “food deserts,” these rural and urban areas offer residents limited access to nutritious food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are about 250,000 South Carolina residents living in 21 food deserts located in 14 different counties. In our state’s low-income rural areas where grocery stores have shuttered their doors, many residents end up traveling at least 10 miles before they reach the nearest supermarket—and usually far more than that.
For those without a reliable car, transportation is a major hurdle when it comes to food access. Especially in rural areas, long stretches of road often mean asking friends for a lift or taking expensive taxi rides. And when shoppers have to head out of town to buy groceries, their money leaves town with them. It’s estimated that South Carolinians in food deserts spend approximately $311 million annually on groceries outside of their local community.
But some communities are finding innovative ways to bring back local fresh-food options.
The small town of Jackson in Aiken County (population 1,700) has long been classified as a food desert. Recently, however, the town council partnered with Aiken Electric Cooperative to bring a Fresh Market IGA supermarket to Jackson. By helping to facilitate a USDA zero-interest loan of up to $400,000 to the town, the cooperative enabled the town’s mayor to fulfill his 10-year mission to bring a quality grocery store to the community. The new store is scheduled to open this December in time for the holiday season.
Down in the Lowcountry, where the Winn-Dixie in the Chicora-Cherokee community of North Charleston closed back in 2005, the USDA has defined the area as a certified food desert. With a vision of bringing better food options to her neighborhood, Germaine Jenkins established the Chicora Place Community Garden, yielding 200 to 300 pounds of fresh produce each year. This spot not only serves as a thriving community garden, it also established the roots for Fresh Future Farm, a nonprofit organic farm half a mile down the road. Serving as the first USDA grocery store in the community since 2005, Fresh Future offers basic grocery items along with fruits, vegetables, eggs, and herbs—as well as stamps, envelopes, and kitchen and toiletry items.
Finally, Seeds of Hope is a statewide partnership between churches and family farmers developed by visionary Donna Bryan in 1987 to help create regular markets for fresh produce. Most of these community-based farmers markets are located in church parking lots, serving their local surrounding neighborhoods, and often the produce left over at the end of the day is shared with a charitable group chosen by the congregation. Over the past 30 years, these partnerships have expanded to all denominations of churches, as well as synagogues, health centers, hospitals and community centers, creating opportunities across the state for people to access fresh food.
The ripple effect of these innovative approaches to addressing food deserts in our state is spreading, helping to bring deserts back to life, strengthening community ties and making it easier for all South Carolinians to put healthy meals on the table.
If you know of other organizations working locally to solve problems and improve the lives of neighbors, please write to connections@ecsc.org.
____
Get More
Learn more about North Charleston’s Fresh Future Farm and its community-based solution to food deserts at freshfuturefarm.org. To find Seeds of Hope markets in your area, visit agriculture.sc.gov/where-to-buy-local/community-based-farmers-markets.
_____
Write Us
Are you part of a community initiative? Share your story with the readers of South Carolina Living. Write to:
Connections
The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina
808 Knox Abbott Drive Cayce, SC 29033
Email: connections@ecsc.org
_____
Related stories
We are all connected – Join the conversation as we search for local solutions to some of the state’s most pressing social problems.
Lessons learned – The inspiring story of Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts & Sciences teaches a powerful lesson about the benefits of community-based education initiatives.
Fighting addiction – A South Carolina college commits to helping students who are making the effort to recover from addiction to powerful prescription opiates and heroin.
Repairing homes and lives – Using teenage volunteers to renovate homes for elderly, disabled and disadvantaged residents, Columbia-based Home Works of America improves housing while forging stronger communities.
Addressing teen homelessness – Palmetto Place Shelter is more than a place for homeless teens to sleep. The staff also provides the social support and sense of community that young people need to grow and thrive.