Many South Carolinians are not only jobless, they are foodless.

The jobless problems have been in the headlines for months, but a new study showing dramatic increases in food bank patrons puts a new perspective on the hard-hitting recession.

According to a study released Feb. 5 by the Harvest Food Bank, the number of people seeking food has increased by 145 percent from 2008 to 2009. The figures are compiled by Hunger in America 2010, a compilation conducted by the Feeding America network of food banks.

The numbers are the highest ever reported in the 20-county mid-state service area served by Harvest Hope: 3,158,487 in 2009, up nearly 2 million from those served in 2008.
The local picture isn’t much better.

In 2008 Harvest Hope’s Columbia Emergency Food Pantry on Shop Road and the new Lexington Food Pantry reported a 91 percent increase in clients.

According to the Food Research and Action Center, South Carolina ranked fifth-highest in the nation for families suffering from food hardship in 2009, with 22.4 percent of the state’s population reporting they did not have enough money to buy food.

As the jobs disappear, more people are struggling to pay for the basic necessities.
Denise Holland, executive director of Harvest Hope, described the reports as “shocking information” as the figures were released at a press conference.

She says it’s often a decision on how to spend the limited amount of funds available.
“Do I eat, or do I pay the medical bills?”

Barry Forde of Golden Harvest Food Banks, which serves counties in the lower part of the state, has worked the banks for 26 years but says he has “never seen these kinds of numbers.”

The study reports 55 percent of clients say they have had to choose between paying for food or heat and utilities. About 46 percent says they had to choose between food and medicine.

The Harvest Hope staff says the people they are seeing are not the usual suspects, rather families who have never had to hold a hand out in the past.

“We’re seeing people who don’t even how to apply for food stamps because they’ve never done it before,” says Jermaine Husser, executive director of the Low Country Food Bank.
The Harvest Hope complex on Shop Road doesn’t have high visibility at its location on the outskirts of Columbia beyond the fairgrounds. In fact, staffers say a lot of people don’t even know the giant food warehouse even exists, though it partners with more than 400 nonprofit agencies.

It is extremely well equipped, with large refrigeration and freezer rooms to accommodate the large supply of foods that come from local grocery stores. The shipments arrive just a short time before their shelf life is about to expire.

Patrons fill out a form and answer a few questions before the volunteers at the center pick up a buggy, go through the various storage bins and pack up 10 days worth of groceries.
Local politicians are strong supporters of the food bank, among them U. S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-Lexington, who spoke briefly at the press conference about the importance of the Harvest Hope as a “safety net” in a time of crisis.

Other members of the state’s congressional delegation had staffers in attendance, showing their support for organizations fighting hunger in a state that doesn’t appear to be living up to its promotional logo: “Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places.”