Charleston native Jermaine Husser knew what it was like to go home wondering what his next meal would be.
Having lived off government assistance as a child, he wanted to make sure, as an adult, that others didn’t go through the same situation.
“I’ve been without, and so I know what it feels like to be without,” said Husser, executive director of Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach, a nonprofit serving the Charleston area.
The organization tries to feed every individual who walks through its doors. But increasing needs are making that goal nearly impossible.
Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach has seen more families this year than ever before, Husser said. In 2024, it served more than 11,000 meals.
“Ever since the start of this year … we’re seeing a tremendous amount of more families, and we receive very little funding through state and federal sources,” he said.
Food insecurity up to 12% in Lowcountry, tracker shows
Charleston’s number of food-insecure individuals, those who do not have sufficient access to food, is increasing. In 2022, food insecurity was 11.2%, according to Feeding America, a hunger and poverty data tracker.
Now, it’s at 12.3%, an increase of more than 5,000 individuals unsure where their food will come from.
There are several factors involved, but one of the reasons why this is happening is clear: $100 doesn’t buy the same amount of food as it did several years ago.
“People just can’t stretch their dollars fast enough,” said Stephanie Kelley, the executive director of the East Cooper Community Outreach.
People are living paycheck to paycheck, and some are forced to choose between paying rent and groceries, she said.
There is a scramble to get more money to douse the fire and help more people.
But with a new administration in Washington, there is no increase in federal funding. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture in March removed a $500 million national program that allowed food banks to purchase fresh food from local farmers.
That leaves organizations like the Lowcountry Food Bank, which Husser once ran, to serve a growing hungry population with pre-pandemic funding.
“We had some significant grants last year that enabled us to purchase quite a significant amount of food,” said Nick Osborne, current president of the food bank. “That has now completely finished.”
The Lowcountry Food Bank is one of South Carolina’s largest food banks and donated more than 46 million pounds of food last year to 184,000 food-insecure people across 10 counties.
Osborne said there has been a 20% increase in needs over the past year, and operation costs have increased because of rising costs of rent and utilities.
“The need is pretty immense,” Osborne said. “[People] go home, they finish the end of the day, and potentially wonder where their next meal is going to come from.”
The Older Americans Act of 1965 is the primary federal funding mechanism for sustaining Meals on Wheels of Charleston, a vital food service program for seniors, said Donna Cook, its executive director. But now it is under attack in the Trump administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget.
“Because of that insecurity in the federal government, we haven’t been able to add anyone from our waiting list since December,” Cook said.
There are more than 350 seniors on the organization’s waiting list, she said. Without increased funding, the organization can’t do much else except stay patient.
“There’s no discussion of extra money to even touch those waiting list folks,” Cook said. “So for us, that’s the biggest impact.”
The FY 2026 federal budget also calls for historic cuts to SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps.
The loss of SNAP could be devastating for Charleston residents who rely on financial assistance for meals, said Dr. LaShandra Morgan, the program manager for community engagement at MUSC.
“It’s really dire that we keep SNAP,” Dr. Morgan said. “The cost of food has already gone up with inflation … so it’s extremely important. It’s the difference between families and children getting to eat.”
There is also the risk of negative health outcomes. SNAP allows people to purchase fresh produce instead of cheap junk food.
“This is going to sound really grim, but if children and people are not eating vegetables, you can have an increase in chronic disease, including not only heart disease and diabetes, but also cancer,” Morgan said.
Awareness, understanding can help
“I think it’s important that there continues to be an awareness of the fact that hunger and food insecurity exist within our community,” Osborne said.
To create lasting change, Husser believes there needs to be a collaborative effort between nonprofits, civic groups and the government.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. And if you want to go far, go together,” he said. “If we could share ideas and listen to our neighbors … we could collectively come up together and find a solution.”
Kelley said she has faith that leaders will respond to public concern and make the right choices in the future. But she warns that now is not the time to pull back federal aid.
“There are probably certain areas where we’re overspending or not making wise decisions, but I don’t believe letting children go to bed hungry is the way to solve those problems,” she said.
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