A joint Resolution

TO PROVIDE A THREE-YEAR PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHING PUBLIC SCHOOL-BASED COMMUNITY CANNERIES WHERE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC MAY BRING LOCALLY-GROWN PRODUCE TO BE CANNED FOR THEIR PERSONAL USE, AND TO PROVIDE RELATED RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND CLEMSON EXTENSION AGENCY.

Whereas, public school-based community canneries developed in the Southeastern United States and South Carolina in the 1920s, and experienced increased popularity in the Depression and World War II when "victory gardens" became a commonplace means for families to provide fruits and vegetables for their personal use in times of limited resources; and

Whereas, while such community canneries continue to thrive in Georgia and other states, they ceased to function in South Carolina, depriving communities of an efficient means to provide healthful food for their personal use; and

Whereas, the Food Systems and Safety Program of the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers robust food preservation programs to the public, including the "Carolina Canning" program to help promote an understanding of canning as a means for preserving foods; and

Whereas, an initiative that would not only provide community instruction in food preservation using canning methods promoted by the Carolina Canning program but also the facilities and supplies needed to preserve locally grown food for personal use would further the desirable goal of helping South Carolinians provide and maintain supplies of nutritious food and enjoy the rewards of the fruits of their labors long after growing seasons end. Now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1.    (A)   The State Board of Education, in conjunction with the Food Systems and Safety Program of the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service (Clemson Extension Service), shall plan, develop, institute, and oversee a pilot program of three public school-based community canning sites where members of the general public may bring locally-grown produce to be canned for their personal use. The purpose of this program is to enable families to safely preserve and store food grown by them for personal consumption through the use of:

      (1)   research-based information, procedures, and instruction concerning canning food; and

      (2)   industrial grade equipment and related supplies that allow faster processing of fruits and vegetables on a larger scale than can be done at home.

   (B)   The State Board of Education and Clemson Extension Service shall cause the public school-based community canneries to be pilot tested in three selected school districts from 2024 through 2027, and shall provide community training programs for food preservation using canning. Use of the canning facilities and canning supplies must be provided to the community with limits on the amount available for each family as determined appropriate by the State Board of Education and Clemson Extension Service. Community members wishing to use the facilities must be required to sign an agreement stating that they will not sell any of the food that they can at the cannery. Each cannery must maintain schedules of times at which the canning facilities are available to the public and also shall maintain records related to the use of the facilities as the State Board of Education and the Clemson Extension Service considers appropriate.

   (C)   Before January 1, 2027, the State Board of Education and Clemson Extension Service shall report on the performance of each cannery and make recommendations regarding whether the program should be continued and expanded through the permanent enactment of legislation for that purpose.

SECTION 2.   This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor and is subject to funding by the General Assembly.

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