Did you know food is the thing Americans throw away most often? In fiscal year 2015, South Carolina produced an estimated 607,000 tons of food waste.

It's hard when you're committed to increasing food access to think about how much food heads for landfills every year. But fortunately, public-private partnerships around campaigns like Don't Waste Food SC are working together with the goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030.

At South Carolina Community Loan Fund, we have been inspired to see one of our borrowers, Atlas Organics, at the forefront of the "table to farm" movement. They are a composting company who has added education to their business model. Atlas Organics is focusing primarily on schools, especially elementary schools. "We are hoping to interrupt the thought process of food waste being considered garbage," says Jim. "The hope is that by introducing the 'why' and 'how' of composting, as young kids become adults, they will grow to expect something totally different in terms of what gets thrown away and what doesn't."

The compost Atlas Organics creates makes its way to local farmers and is a valuable commodity to urban farmers in particular. We are excited to see campaigns like DHEC's Don't Waste Food SC continue to spur economic growth, decrease waste, and increase food access. Hopefully the children learning from Atlas Organics will, as Jim Davis says, grow up to expect something totally different.