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

Photo of author Mary Martha Greene in her kitchen.

Mary Martha Greene, The Cheese Biscuit Queen

November 19, 2026, 6:00 PM

Please join us for our next Speaker at the Center talk with The Cheese Biscuit Queen, Mary Martha Greene. Greene, the author The Cheese Biscuit Queen: Kiss my aspic! Southern Recipes, Saucy Stories, and More Rambunctious Behavior and The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All: Southern Recipes, Sweet Remembrances, and a Little Rambunctious Behavior will demonstrate preparing a champagne mustard.