Summer Prompts ‘Home Grown’ Farm Fresh Push

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — The onset of summer brings with it a push to promote locally grown, certified South Carolina fruits and vegetables, and agricultural officials say everyone, including farmers, consumers, restaurants and, ultimately, the state’s economy, benefits. Managers at Harper’s Restaurant in Columbia’s downtown Five Points believe the average person underestimates the freshness and variety of fruits and vegetable grown in South Carolina. They hope new menu items promoting some of the summer’s freshest favorites also provide a lesson in the benefits of local dining. Officials with the South Carolina State Farmers Market are hoping the same thing. They say keeping the growing, buying and selling of produce in the Palmetto State creates an economic boost in a still struggling economy. Check with your favorite Midlands eatery to find out what’s on their menus for the summer to promote local, farm fresh, food.