Even without a government shutdown and the threatened cessation in federal food assistance benefits on Nov. 1, more people around the Lowcountry have food insecurity than in a long time.
The Lowcountry Food Bank (LFB), which distributed 46 million pounds of food for 33 million meals last year in the state’s 10 coastal counties, says the need is increasing. In 2024, the food bank helped about 200,000 people, said the food bank’s CEO, Nick Osborne.
“In the last year, we are seeing on average about a 10% increase in need,” he said this week.
“We’ve seen a 30% increase in food needs in Charleston and Horry counties.”
What’s more worrisome now, he said, is the impact on demand by laid-off federal workers and cuts in funding for 160,000 South Carolinians who receive federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on the food bank and its 230 partner food agencies. About half of SNAP household recipients in South Carolina have children.
“The scariest thing for us is to be able to continue to meet the needs of our neighbors,” he said.
If you need help
If you need to get nutritious food, Osborne suggests that you connect to the food bank’s website to search by zip code for places and hours that you can get help to keep your family fed. Find a food pantry or “Buddy Box” online: lowcountryfoodbank.org
You should be able to find a broad variety of food, including pantry staples, canned goods, perishable foods as available and more, to be able to offer nutritious meals for your family.
If you want to help now
Perhaps the best assistance to give is money — either directly to the food bank (lowcountryfoodbank.org/donate) or to the state’s One SC Fund (yourfoundation.org/impact-initiatives/one-sc-fund), which was activated Tuesday in anticipation of growing food needs.
Osborne said monetary donations give assistance agencies the flexibility they need to buy what they’re not getting from donations.
Other ways to help
Give your time. Volunteers are always needed. They provide 4,500 hours per month, for example, at the area food bank. Contact the food bank or a partner agency if you want to give time.
Host a food drive. LFB officials say every dollar and can of food helps. Check out its website to learn how to host a neighborhood food drive or a virtual food drive.
Give food. You can give dry goods (rice, whole-grain cereal, pasta) and low-sodium canned vegetables and fruits, as well as anything protein-based, such as peanut butter, canned fish, chicken or beef, all of which help balance nutritional needs.
And then there are these items which you might not realize are really appreciated by those in need:
- Boxed milk (kids can use for cereal, which they get a lot of)
- Powdered milk
- Sugar, flour, cornmeal
- Cooking oil in bottles
- Spices, from salt and pepper to powdered forms of garlic, onions and chilis
- Tea bags, coffee
- Dishwashing detergent
- Feminine hygiene products
About bread, recipes
Peanut butter isn’t much good if you don’t have sandwich bread to put it on. While the food bank gets a lot of donated bread from retail partners — up to 10% of its annual donations — bread is perishable.
Rather than spend money buying loaves of bread, it might be more cost efficient to make bread from its four major ingredients — flour, water, salt and yeast. Check the web for countless recipes on making bread.
The food bank also has more than two dozen handy recipes in English and Spanish to help you stretch food supplies and make nutritious meals.
Visit this link: lowcountryfoodbank.org/recipes2022
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