South Carolina's 560,000 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients will currently not get their food assistance in November through the federal government shutdown. It leaves a $104 million hole in benefits that food banks, restaurants and other local organizations will attempt to aid.
The leaders and volunteers at these community-driven resources, however, were not prepared to prop-up the plethora of people powerless to the pause in their expected SNAP benefits.
The state activated its One SC Fund to kickoff the last week of October. Gov. Henry McMaster held a press conference Tuesday with food bank leaders to speak on the fund drive.
Harvest Hope is the state's largest food bank. Its CEO, Erinn Rowe, spoke at the press conference and said the food bank was already at a "critically low food point" ahead of November. She said that is typical for this time of the year.
"This isn't a light switch I can flip on tomorrow and fill up all three of my warehouses," she said. "This is a moment for people to step up because people need to eat."
In an interview with South Carolina Public Radio prior to the public appearance, Rowe said she hoped a call to the public could band people together. She said it was essential, but a monetary effort of this stature has not been completed before in the state.
"I hope this doesn't end up making food political." Rowe said.
The Central Carolina Community Foundation administers the fund. Similar drives were activated in the past for hurricane relief efforts and as a COVID-19 pandemic response.
CCCF CEO and President Georgia Mjartan told South Carolina Public Radio that $195,000 had been accounted for through 48 hours of the drive's activation.
The state’s four major food banks – Harvest Hope, Second Harvest, Golden Harvest and the Low Country Food Bank – will receive this money to buy food and help distribute it to different pantries, partners and people.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, food pantries and distribution sites that wanted to apply for an Emergency Food Response Grant will not be considered.
In an email sent to applicants, the CCCF said the four major food banks would take priority. "At this stage, we are prioritizing the four major food banks in South Carolina for our initial round of grants. If contributions surpass $1,000,000, we will resume accepting applications for review."
Food banks, which are not state-funded resources, largely rely on philanthropy and their own wallets. The banks called on South Carolinians and their good will to help feed people outside of the fund drive. And the generosity will need to trickle down to food pantries and restaurants.
Lines, lists and local initiatives
NorthStar Center of Hope is a church home to two of South Carolina's around 900 food pantries. Volunteers roll out carts of food five or six times a month at its Forest Acres location.
On Thursday, 46 people were in line. One-hundred-fifty-eight people were fed. Visitors marked their names and how many people live with them. Then, they would wait in their car for a cart of food to be stored in their truck.
One woman who visited the church, sported in a beige hat her husband gifted her, said going to a food pantry was not the norm in her life; 76-year-old Joesphine Washington said she only went out to the church because her neighbor encouraged her to tag along.
"She always invited me to come out with her, but I never said yes," Washington said. "I don't know what's going to happen next month. I don't want to be home and not have any food, and I want to be able to share during the holidays."
Washington is a great-grandmother and SNAP recipient. Her benefits per month have ranged from $114 down to $14.
"Fourteen dollars a month. I could buy me a soda," she said.
NorthStar Center of Hope Director Yvonne Murray said seniors were already the church's most vulnerable population. It echoed the food bank leaders had said.
"For a lot of the seniors — that is their food budget. They still have to choose between medications, rent, utilities." she said.
As of September 2025, 16% of the state's SNAP recipients were older than 60 years of age.
Murray invited everyone who needs assistance, not just seniors, to visit the pantry. She also called for donations.
These donations can look like money, non-perishable goods or bags to hand the food in.
The call is shared by Logan Ford, the executive director at ACTS of Aiken. The group assists with food and clothing needs in Aiken County.
Restaurants throughout the state have also begun offering free food on certain days with ranging stipulations. Businesses include Bubba's Pub-N-Grub in Lexington; Luca's Wood Fire & Pizza Restaurant in Columbia; and Gyromania Grill in Elgin.
Beyond Nov. 1
The pause in federal SNAP benefits will begin Nov. 1, but not everyone in the state is on the same schedule.
A key part of the uncertainty from food banks is the unpredictability. Some SNAP funds do not get sent out to people until the nineteenth of each month, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Omme-Salma Rahemtullah, the executive director at FoodShare SC, said it meant people may run out of their October benefits in waves.
"Not everyone is on the same schedule. Not everyone has the same needs," she said.
The current federal government shutdown threatens to top the previous 35-day-long record. Should it continue into December, it would mean another $100 million in benefits will not be distributed — barring any change in response strategy from the state or federal government.
Visitors to food assistance locations are not all SNAP recipients. Federal employees who have not been paid through the shutdown, families who cannot afford an adequate amount of groceries and people simply having a rough month all visit these resources.
Beyond the shutdown and general SNAP benefits, programs like South Carolina's Healthy Bucks will be impacted. Cuts to SNAP in the One Big Beautiful Bill will leave states with a larger share of funding food programs in 2026.
A judge is currently looking at the current status of benefits and if the federal government is legally required to use contingency funds, but for now, South Carolinians will have to solely rely on one another.
