Events

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with The Midlands Local Food Collaborative will host farmers and producers, chefs, farm to institution & farm to school personnel, distributors, retailers, buyers, food writers, & local food leaders at the Certified South Carolina Grower Buyer Mash Up.

The Mash Up event is an opportunity for South Carolina producers to meet potential buyers for their products - and an opportunity for chefs, distributors, retail and wholesale-level food buyers who want to include local food in their menus or product offerings to meet local producers to supply that demand.

The event will kick off at noon with a two-part educational panel discussion and box lunch. Topics will include a wholesale, food hub, and restaurant buyer panel and a discussion on the unique value proposition of incorporating more local food items in menus. Following the educational session, producers will exhibit trade show style from 2-5 pm with product lists, marketing materials, production calendars, and pricing. There will be several featured chefs exhibiting and a chance to try food prepared with products grown by some of the exhibiting farms.

Both the educational and trade show portions of the event will be held outside at the State Farmers Market in West Columbia, SC following social distancing guidelines. We hope you will join us for a time of networking resulting in increased market connections. Registration will be live in January 2021.

Important ticketing notes: Growers or Producers wishig to exhibit their farm or products during the trade show should select an exhibitor ticket. Buyers , chefs, or affiliated industry attendees should select an attendee ticket. Both ticket types have the option to select the educational session for an additional minimal fee, or you can choose to attende only the trade show protion of the event from 2-5 pm.

For more information, please contact Katie Pfeiffer at Kpfeiffer@scda.sc.gov .