Help Us Help Those in Need, It's Easier Than You Think!
1. According to Feeding America, food insecurity (when people don’t have enough to eat and don’t know where their next meal will come from) rose sharply in their most recent study, which used 2022 data.
What they found, across the U.S.:
100% of counties in the U.S. experience food insecurity. While food insecurity levels vary across the country, eight of 10 high food insecurity counties are in the South.
Nationally, 49 million Americans turned to food programs in 2022 to make ends meet.
The reason? Inflation and the cut-back of COVID-related government programs. The cost per meal has increased to its highest point in the last two decades - at just under $4 - while at the same time, housing and medical costs have also increased.
2. The number of food insecure residents in our service area has increased significantly as well. Hunger has a local address.
There are now 29,440 food-insecure residents of Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties, an increase of 43% from the 2021 data set that had been the most current. Nearly three-quarters of them live in Beaufort County, including 4,500 food-insecure people right here on Hilton Head Island.
With our 54 agency partners, we’re reaching about a third of the total food-insecure. We are actively working to reach even more of our neighbors in need:
By allocating more food to the agency partners who feed more people;
By setting up new agency partners in the areas where they’re needed most. Over the last two years, we have added 10 agency partners where they were needed most, and that set us up well to help meet the increasing demand. We are studying the Okatie area, which has no permanent food pantry, to meet a growing need there.
3. We’ll get 2023 statistics next year. However, we don’t expect to see a decrease in demand anytime soon. Our agency partners are reporting continued increases in demand, particularly in the Beaufort area.
4. Our community has always helped us do more for those in need. Here are a few ideas for how people and organizations can help us feed more people:
Donate. Every dollar enables us to rescue enough food for five meals, or to purchase a pound of healthy produce to supplement rescued food.
Hold a food drive. Canned foods - particularly canned meats, SPAM, Vienna Sausages, and pasta meals - and dried foods - particularly white rice, black beans, and masa flour - help our agencies handle surges in demand when rescued food can’t keep up.
Support our tourist food rescue program - Post Vacation Food Donation. You don’t have to be a tourist to donate! Come see us in the Grayco parking lot on Saturday mornings from 7:30 am to 10 am, or drop off non-perishable food outside FISH Coastal restaurant in Coligny or at the Palmetto Dunes pass office.
Marcus Tanner, Executive Director
Second Helpings, Inc.
843-689-3689
Marcus Direct: 843-689-3616
http://www.SecondHelpingsLC.org
ExecDirector@SecondHelpingsLC.org
11-A Marine Side Drive, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
WHHI Daily News Anchor: Bob Stevens
June 2024
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