By Becky Billingsley

Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, Myrtle Beach - In cooperation with the Clemson Extension Service, Myrtle Beach Restaurant News has launched Myrtle Beach CAFE, a Chef and Farmer Exchange where chefs, restaurant owners and private consumers can find fresh local foods.

Myrtle Beach CAFE is accessed from a tab on the home page of MyrtleBeachRestaurantNews.com. Thirty-two local farmers registered with the Certified South Carolina food program are listed along with their contact information and the foods they produce. As crops are available, farmers can place their information directly on their own pages.

Blake Lanford, a Clemson Extension Agent based in Conway, facilitated the service. He says farmers need a way to let the public know what fresh crops they have available.

"It’s not uncommon that we get calls from farmers wanting to know if we are aware of a buyer for collards, squash, potatoes….whatever it may be," Lanford said. "In general the relationships that have been established by either the restaurant or the farmer have been pursued on an individual case-by-case basis. All too often however, no relationships exist. The farmers don’t know what chefs want and chefs don’t know what farmers have."

Now the farmers have a collective spot to place current information about their fruits, vegetables, honey, peanuts and even goat dairy products, in the comment sections below their business descriptions. Chefs and anyone looking for fresh local foods can find out what's available in one spot.

Myrtle Beach CAFE is a hyperlocal extension of SC MarketMaker, "...an e-commerce business tool to help facilitate the direct buying and selling of South Carolina agricultural and seafood products among consumers, producers and other businesses in the food industry."

Find out more about why eating locals foods is a good idea by clicking here.