Hunger Takes No Vacation Food Drive Launched at SC State Parks

COLUMBIA, SC – State Parks in South Carolina are partnering with the South Carolina Food Bank Association in a 5-month long food drive to help fill pantries and feed the hungry.  The program “Hunger Takes No Vacation” invites people to drop off unopened, non-perishable food items and goods, especially those left over from vacations and trips, to collection bins at nearby state parks.  The parks will send those donations to the official food bank in their region.

Although several state parks have already begun their food drives and held special events, the statewide effort officially kicks off Wednesday, July 1, and will end Monday, Nov. 30, after Thanksgiving.  A special “Pack a Park Truck” event will be held onJuly 25 to drive up more awareness and donations.

“State parks have always been an important part of our local communities, and our contributions should come in many different forms,” said Duane Parrish, Director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism. “We have the public space and a constituency that’s passionate about service – whether it’s the park visitor, camping clubs, scout groups, families and church groups. This is truly a win-win in the best sense of the term.”

The most requested items are canned vegetables, canned meats, dry goods, peanut butter, beans, toiletries, diapers, detergents and plastic bags.

Harvest Hope Food Bank and the Lowcountry Food Bank along the coast, generally have a tougher time collecting food and donated items during the summer months.

“When school is out and people are traveling or focused on other pursuits, it’s sometimes difficult to remember that we continue to have a number of South Carolinians who are struggling with hunger,” said Denise Holland, CEO of Harvest Hope and President of the SC Food Bank Association. “We’re asking that, while you’re on vacation or visiting destinations in South Carolina, that you keep the needy in mind. We make it a little easier by placing collection bins at each of the 47 state parks in South Carolina.”

The four members of the South Carolina Food Bank Association are:

• Golden Harvest Food Bank, serving Abbeville, Allendale, Aiken, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Edgefield, Greenwood, McCormick, Oconee, and Pickens counties;
• Harvest Hope Food Bank, serving Calhoun, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Fairfield, Florence, Greenville, Kershaw, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda and Sumter counties;
• Lowcountry Food Bank, serving Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, and Williamsburg counties; and
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, serving Cherokee, Lancaster, Spartanburg, Union, and York counties

More than 860,000 South Carolinians lived below the poverty threshold in 2013, which is about 18.6 percent of the population or 1 in 5.4 people. The national average is 15.8 percent or 1 in 6.3 people.

Each of the four member food banks are 501c3 organizations who utilize many resources to gather, sort, store and distribute food either at their own facilities or directly to at-risk areas in their individual service areas.  Their combined efforts distribute millions of pounds of food and provide millions of meals to struggling South Carolinians every year.

For more information on “Hunger Takes No Vacation,” contact Dawn Dawson-House, Director of Corporate Communications at SCPRT, at [email protected] or 803-734-1779, or Denise Holland, President of the SC Food Bank Association, at[email protected] or 803-254-4432, ext. 1129.