What is the Waccamaw Grown Program?
Farmer members of WMC are eligible to participate in the Waccamaw Grown program that helps brand and identify their products as local for the benefit of the consumer. Together with the Certified SC Grown Program sponsored by the SC Department of Agriculture, participants in WMC markets can be sure that they are buying the freshest the local fruits and vegetables that money can buy.

The Waccamaw Grown™ program of the Waccamaw Market Cooperative (WMC) certifies food and agricultural products grown or raised on farms in the Pee Dee and Waccamaw regions of South Carolina and North Carolina. Displayed with food and farm products, the Waccamaw Grown label helps consumers, retailers, and wholesalers better distinguish and identify local agricultural products.

For the 2011/12 growing season, participation in the program is free. Waccamaw Grown certified producers and sellers can get Waccamaw Grown labels and promotional materials.

The Waccamaw Grown™ label is a trademark of Waccamaw Market Cooperative; to protect the integrity of the label and the local food market, local producers must meet particular standards and agree to comply with logo-use restrictions. The standards and restrictions are meant to protect the label; the Waccamaw Grown label may only be used to represent food and agricultural products grown or raised by certified regional farms.

What are the goals of the program?
In its mission to support regional farms and rebuild a community-based food system, WMC developed the Waccamaw Grown program to expand local markets for regional farms and to provide a way the public can easily identify products from local farms.

Who can participate in the program?
The Waccamaw Grown program incorporates farmers, retailers of local food and farm products, and consumers. Buy Waccamaw Grown and brand your products.

Why do I want to buy a product with the Waccamaw Grown logo?
When you buy food or a farm product with the Waccamaw Grown label you are getting a product that was grown or raised in our region by a local farmer. What does this mean? It means that you are buying a product that is fresher, better tasting, and more nutritious. It means that you are supporting a local food system that contributes to the local economy that is better for the environment, preserves the farming heritage of the Pee Dee and Waccamaw Regions, and protects our landscape.

On average, our food today travels 1500 miles from seed to plate. This distance translates into a loss of freshness and nutrition and into a loss of control over the way our food is produced. Food that is grown to travel thousands of miles is bred to hold up over distances and time and not for taste. Long distance transport consumes nonrenewable fossil fuels. This distance also means we don’t know the people that grow our food or have any knowledge about their production and business practices. If we no longer know our farmers, we have less control over the way our food is grown and over the kind of environmental and social impacts of food production.

How is the logo protected?
The Waccamaw Grown™ label is a trademark of Waccamaw Market Cooperative (WMC). To protect the integrity of the label and the local food market, producers and retailers must agree to comply with certain logo use restrictions and sign a binding License Agreement. The requirements and agreement are meant to protect the label and state that the label may only be used to represent food and agricultural products grown or raised by certified farms.

How do I become a Waccamaw Grown producer?
The Waccamaw Grown™ logo certifies farms that grow or raise food and agricultural products in the Pee Dee or Waccamaw Regions. To become a certified farm and market products with the Waccamaw Grown label, producers must confirm the location of their farm in an approved county and certify that they will only market products as Waccamaw Grown that are raised on the certified farm.

How frequently will my farm need to be re-certified?
All farm certifications expire annually. Depending on the date you sign the certification form, you will need to renew it every 12 months. To renew, producers need to sign and submit a new Producer Certification form and License Agreement.

What happens if my farm is not compliant with certification and logo-use standards?
Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the Producer Certification and License Agreement will result in immediate termination from the program and of the right to use the Waccamaw Grown logo and related promotional materials.

How is certification verified?
Use of the Waccamaw Grown logo by retail partners and certified producers is governed by a set of logo-use standards and a binding License Agreement.

What will it cost my business to participate in the Waccamaw Grown program?
For the 2012 growing season, participation in the program for producers is free.

What are the standards for use of the Waccamaw Grown label?
The standards for use of the Waccamaw Grown label are outlined in your agreement. Only certified farms can use the Waccamaw Grown label, and the label can only be used to promote food and farm products grown on certified farms.

Waccamaw Grown Application