College of Charleston
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Launched in 2018, the student chapter of Stone Soup Collective echoes the local parent organization's efforts to combat food insecurity and food waste on campus. Students incorporate vegetables grown in campus gardens and surplus produce from local food hubs like GrowFood Carolina to make and distribute healthy, plant-based soup to Cougar students every week. Stone Soup partners include local activists, churches and campus institutions like Cougar Food Pantry.

You can read more about the program in the university publication The College Today at https://today.cofc.edu/2019/01/17/student-does-it-all-for-goodness-sake/ or view new updates and photos on its Instagram, @stonesoupcofc. And you can watch a video to learn more about the Charleston parent organization of Stone Soup Collective at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1465144386858671.

Now celebrating its fifth year, The 71 Percent Project is a foundational community partnership through the Center for Sustainable Development. The initiative aims to educate community members about and advocate for environmental issues that impact the health of Charleston's waterways and the Atlantic Ocean.

The primary focuses of the partnership now are limiting or curbing entirely harmful plastic pollution and championing healthy, local and sustainable fisheries. Annually, Sustainable Seafood Dinners, beach and marsh sweeps, and lectures and workshops are held to promote sound environmental stewardship. These events and outreach strategies are closely connected to the university's efforts to combat food waste and insecurity, as well as promote sustainable lifestyles and more conscious consumerism.

The 71 Percent Project's partners include the South Carolina Aquarium, the Aquarium's Good Catch program, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Surfrider Foundation, local watermen and women and small businesses, the Gullah Geechee Nation, restaurants and area nonprofits.

You can learn more about the program at http://sustainability.cofc.edu/projects/waste-and-water-systems/71percent/index.php.

Social Justice Coffee Hour is a critical component of community partnerships and shared learning at the College, and it's housed within the Center for Sustainable Development. Organized in 2015 by two Cougar students, the program hosts regular panel discussions on timely or particularly relevant social justice topics, including gender inequality, immigration, gentrification, climate change and food security.

The university partners with various nonprofits, thought leaders and community activists to invite professionals off-campus to meet and share insights and knowledge with Cougar students, faculty and staff. Examples of previous community partners include GrowFood Carolina, Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities and Destiny Community Cafe. The Center for Sustainable Development funds light refreshments and educational-related fees to bring speakers to campus.

You can learn more about the program at http://sustainability.cofc.edu/projects/culture-and-community/social-justice-coffee-hour/index.php or read about its beginnings in The College Today at https://today.cofc.edu/2015/10/13/social-justice-coffee-hour/.