Lowcountry Food Bank always strives to innovate and find ways to ensure all our neighbors within the 10 coastal counties we serve have equitable access to healthy produce. This amazing project enables the Gullah Farmers Cooperative Association to make investments needed which benefits not only the area’s farmers, but the entire community, which helps address food equity and food insecurity in the southernmost counties we serve.
Feeding America established the Food Security Equity Impact Fund in March 2021 to drive investments to communities of color which are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity. Data shows Black, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islanders experience food insecurity at rates 2-3 times higher than that of white individuals.
Lowcountry Food Bank is one of 25 food banks within the 200-member national Feeding America food bank network receiving a Food Security Impact Fund grant from Feeding America®, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, as part of their Food Security Equity Impact Fund.
This $496,908 grant supports a partnership between the Lowcountry Food Bank and the Gullah Farmers Cooperative to address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity in Southeastern South Carolina by:
Developing and advocating for change
Developing solutions to improve food insecurity
Addressing food insecurity disparities
Creating a more just food system
Objectives of this collaboration include:
• Increase the capacity of African American farmers and people of color-led producers to access the wholesale food market
• Expand the membership/suppliers of the Cooperative to include new persons of color-led food producers and farmers
• Establish member services to increase the amount of quality product produced by the participating farmers for Cooperative sales.
With every award from the Food Security Equity Impact Fund, a minimum of 85% of awarded dollars were allocated to food bank community partners, purposefully driving resources to organizations with historical barriers to access funding, led by and serving people of color.
About the Gullah Farmers Cooperative
The Gullah Farmers Cooperative was founded in 2010 to establish a profitable, significant local food market for Farmer-Members who are honoring and continuing the agricultural traditions of the Gullah Community. Today, the Cooperative represents 11 Gullah farm operations in the coastal counties of South Carolina: Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, Charleston, and Jasper. In 2021, the Cooperative launched a processing, packing, and distribution facility on St. Helena Island, South Carolina. This facility enables farmers to build local, wholesale market outlets that have not been open to them in the past.
Our Gullah Farmer-Members grow fresh food on the Sea Islands of South Carolina. We pack and process locally-grown farm produce in a food-safe facility and distribute to grocery stores, institutions, schools, and restaurants. Our farmers grow with sustainable practices, ranging from IPM to certified organic, and the facility and farmers are all GAP certified! Wholesale orders started in April 2021. Call us at (843) 212-6576 or email sales@gullahfarmers.org for the latest delivery schedule. To learn more about the Gullah Farmers Cooperative and their efforts in the Lowcountry, visit gullahfarmers.org.
About the Lowcountry Food Bank: Feed. Advocate. Empower.
The Lowcountry Food Bank serves the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina and distributed more than 39 million pounds of food in 2022. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps fight hunger by distributing food to more than 240 partner agencies including on-site meal programs, homeless shelters and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank advocates on behalf of those who experience hunger and helps empower people to make healthy and nutritious food choices. For more information, visit the Lowcountry Food Bank website.
Margaret Grant, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
Lowcountry Food Bank
843-747-8146
http://www.LowcountryFoodBank.org
MGrant@LCFBank.org
WHHI Daily News Anchor: Ally McNair
May 2023
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