In a significant step toward addressing food insecurity in South Carolina’s rural communities, the Lowcountry Food Bank (LCFB) is constructing a new 20,000-square-foot distribution center in Hampton County. This transformative project, made possible partly through New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) from the South Carolina Community Loan Fund (SCCLF), will dramatically improve food access for residents across the region’s most vulnerable communities.
The new facility represents a response to urgent community needs. Since 2019, grocery costs have surged by 25 percent, placing an unprecedented strain on low-income households that typically spend nearly 30 percent of their budget on food. This burden is worse in coastal areas like Beaufort County, which has seen the nation’s seventh-highest rent increase (43 percent) since 2020. “The impact of inflation on our communities has been severe,” noted LCFB leadership. “When families are forced to choose between paying rent and buying groceries, we need to increase our support.”
The new Hampton County facility will replace LCFB’s current 6,000-square-foot Yemassee location, operating at maximum capacity. The strategic location, just five minutes from I-95, will serve as a hub for Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties, significantly improving regional distribution efficiency and food access.
The expanded facility will feature a modern freezer and refrigeration space, loading docks for direct delivery access, a teaching kitchen for community education, office and meeting spaces for partner agencies, and dedicated volunteer areas.
The new center will enable direct truckload deliveries, reducing transportation costs and creating operational efficiencies throughout the Food Bank’s network. This means more resources can go directly toward serving the community’s needs.
For residents of the Hilton Head Island–Bluffton–Beaufort metro area, where 53 percent of workers earn low wages (median hourly wage of $9.94), this expansion means improved access to nutritious food options, including fresh produce, dairy, and meat products, that might otherwise be cost-prohibitive.
Scheduled to open in February 2025, the new facility represents a significant milestone in LCFB’s mission to fight hunger in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Through innovative funding solutions like the NMTC program, which SCCLF has leveraged to deploy $85 million since 2019, vital community projects like this can become reality.
