(AP) -- COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Collard greens are now South Carolina's official state vegetable.
Gov. Nikki Haley signed the bill Thursday elevating the status of the green, leafy vegetable.
The governor signed the bill at Rocky Creek Elementary in Lexington where third-grader Mary Grace Wingard had proposed the designation.
The 9-year-old says she was inspired by a class field trip to the Statehouse in March. She says Haley told her class to get excited and get involved in government, so she decided she would.
Republican Sen. Jake Knotts of West Columbia introduced her proposal April 14, and it quickly moved ahead.
Mary Grace sent a letter to legislators saying her classmates were studying South Carolina history and watching the bill's progress.
Do you like collard greens? What's your favorite way to eat them?
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
