Telling the Story of Food: Why Food Literacy Matters to Your Library

Teens at the Chesterfield County Public Library prepare healthy snacks using the Charlie Cart from the South Carolina State Library

Over the past three and a half years of our food literacy initiative, SC Read Eat Grow, the one question I have heard over and over again is, “Why should a library be involved with food and nutrition?” For the South Carolina State Library and our statewide partner organizations, the answer is simple: food is a basic need for every person. Yet there is an incredible amount of information and ignorance surrounding the story of our food—how it is grown, the journey to your plate, how it affects your health now and later, and how the food we grow affects the planet at large as well as your neighborhood farmer. As a community institution that provides information, along with the knowledge to navigate that information, libraries are an ideal resource to bridge this gap. So why not libraries and food? Please visit WebJunction to see the full article by Rebecca Antill.

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Upcoming Event

Cover's of Tally Johnson books.

Revolutionary Ghosts with Author and Storyteller, Tally Johnson

October 29, 2026, 6:00 PM

Please join us for our next Speaker at the Center talk with award-winning storyteller, author, and folklorist Tally Johnson, who will tell ghost stories from the Revolutionary War period, covering South Carolina from the mountains to the sea. You will learn some of the hidden history of the Revolution via the rich ghostlore of South Carolina, where the Revolution was won.