Hunger
Has a Local AddressRescuing Food for Our Neighbors Who Need It.
We are the only food rescue organization serving Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties. Our volunteers pick up food from food donors and deliver it at no cost to our agency partners, who provide it directly to people in need.
Rescuing food and preventing food waste in our community
Second Helpings is a nonprofit food rescue and distribution network striving to eliminate hunger and food waste in the South Carolina Lowcountry. We collect and distribute food which would have otherwise ended up in landfills, and provide it, free of charge, to more than 50 food pantries, soup kitchens and family and senior programs in Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties. In 2022, we rescued and distributed 3.2 million pounds of food. Since 1992, we have distributed more than 47 million pounds of food for our neighbors who need it.
According to Feeding America, there are 20,000 persons in need in our three-county area – including several thousand on Hilton Head Island and those who commute to work here. These, and many others who are finding that they can’t make ends meet because of high inflation or an unexpected expense, are the people that we and our agencies serve. They are children and their families, senior citizens, and workers whose paychecks don’t stretch far enough to cover their expenses. Many of them work in the hospitality industry, making our paradise possible for local residents and visitors.
A year at Second Helpings
lbs of food collected and distributed
equivalent meals provided
value of food distributed
Donate
GIVE WHERE YOU LIVE. We rely on the generosity of people like you to rescue food and prevent food waste in our community.
Volunteer
Partner
Help us feed the hungry with a sponsorship, food drive, or fundraising event.
Raise Awareness
The Need is Great
An estimated 40% of food is wasted. Nearly all (97%) of wasted food ends up in landfills, becoming the single largest component of municipal solid waste and a large source of methane emissions.
At the same time, one in nine people, and one in seven children in South Carolina, struggles with hunger. An estimated 60% of South Carolina’s children qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches. In some towns, this number can reach 100%.
Our partners say...
“How I wish I would win the lottery or something so that we could give back to you for all that Second Helpings has meant to Mercy Mission. We are so grateful for your partnership, and not just during the heaviness time of the pandemic. When your truck rolls up, a big cheer goes up and that heaviness turns into a lightness and joy for our neighbors here in Hardeeville, our staff and our volunteers as well as your staff and volunteers.”
Sister Mary Fran Bassick,
Mercy Mission
Our Agency Partners
We partner with 51 local food pantries, soup kitchens, family and senior programs throughout Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties that serve people in need. All of the food we distribute is provided free of charge, so that these organizations are able to focus their resources on helping their clients break the cycle of poverty.
1 in 7 children
in our area are food insecure.
Who we help
Second Helpings and our Agency Partners serve a culturally diverse range of populations in a variety of ways. These include soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, shelters for victims of domestic violence, Boys and Girls Clubs, senior centers, and more. Our focus with each of these groups is to serve the greatest number of people in an area while avoiding duplication of services.
Thanks to our food donors
Waterfall Farm
Dempsey Farms
Longs Deer Processing
