FAQ'S
WHAT IS “FOOD INSECURITY?”
“Food Insecurity” means lacking enough nutritious food to fully meet basic needs because of a lack of financial resources. Studies show that in South Carolina, more than one in seven children, and one in nine residents overall, are food insecure.
Feeding America estimates that 20,610 residents of Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton County are food insecure. This is the population Second Helpings strives to reach, through our Agency Partners’ outreach as well as establishing new agencies in under-served areas.
WHY DOES OUR COMMUNITY NEED FOOD PANTRIES AND SOUP KITCHENS? DON’T PEOPLE ALREADY GET FOOD STAMPS?
Food stamps, known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), were designed to supplement a low-income family’s ability to purchase groceries. Many families fall into a category of working poor – they earn too much for SNAP but don’t earn enough to afford adequate meals. Elderly or disabled people on fixed incomes sometimes must choose between paying for medicine and buying nutritious food. Food banks play a critical role in helping to make ends meet. Supplemental food sourced by Second Helpings and distributed through our local Agency Partners means a person can reallocate a portion of their grocery money towards rent, utilities, medicine or transportation.
In October 2023, the USDA reported that food insecurity across America rose sharply in 2022, as low-income people struggled to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and from the end of expanded food assistance. The number of food-insecure households is at its highest level in more than a decade, the report said.
HOW IS RESCUED FOOD DISTRIBUTED?
To promote efficiency and help build community capacity, Second Helpings use its refrigerated trucks to distribute perishable foods to our Agency Partners – the food pantries, soup kitchens, family and senior programs we serve. Each day the food is rescued from Food Donors, and is delivered the same day to our Agency Partners based on their distribution schedules. No food is stored in the trucks or in a warehouse. By using our trucks, we help them to provide greater amounts of nutritious foods to the people they serve.
WHERE CAN I GET FOOD?
Second Helpings doesn’t distribute food directly to the public. Instead, we work through our Agency Partners, which are community-based food pantries, soup kitchens, family and senior programs to help reach people in their communities in need. We work through 54 Agency Partners located in Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties. To find an agency near you, visit our Agency Partners page on this website.
WHAT’S MOST HELPFUL TO DONATE: FOOD OR MONEY?
Don’t let your food go to waste, donate it! Donated food is always welcome, particularly canned goods.
But money goes even further: one dollar donated enables us to rescue six pounds of food, or enough for five meals! Your donated funds also allow us to purchase fresh produce to supplement the nutritional profile of rescued food.
WHAT DOES SECOND HELPINGS DO?
Second Helpings works in partnership with grocery stores and food agencies to create a hunger-free South Carolina in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties. Our 468 volunteers and small staff focus on serving and developing resources in our local community. We also work with the Lowcountry Food Bank by picking up food for our agencies from their warehouse, free of charge, and follow their guidelines set by Feeding America.
Second Helpings operates eight refrigerated trucks daily, manned by volunteers who rescue food and deliver the food the same day. Second Helpings also works with local farms to harvest fresh produce to supplement what is received from the food partners.
WHAT IS A FOOD DONOR?
Food Donors are local grocery stores, along with dollar and convenience stores and restaurants, farms and even a deer processor. We pick up food from their receiving areas and deliver it the same day to our Agency Partners, who distribute it to our neighbors in need. We also collect food from schools, hotels, vacation rentals, departing visitors, and farmers’ market visitors – in short, almost everywhere we can.
HOW IS SECOND HELPINGS RELATED TO THE LOWCOUNTRY FOOD BANK?
Second Helpings partners with the Lowcountry Food Bank to address food insecurity. We transport food from the Lowcountry Food Bank to several of our Agency Partners, and we execute their Fresh Xpress program, primarily on Hilton Head Island. Otherwise, we receive no subsidies or donations from the Lowcountry Food Bank. Our costs are totally supported locally, through individual donations and grants designated to Second Helpings.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SECOND HELPINGS AND A FOOD PANTRY?
Second Helpings is a food rescue organization that provides food free of charge to our Agency Partners (local food pantries, soup kitchens, family and senior programs), who provide it directly to people in need. We do not maintain an inventory of food; everything we purchase or rescue is distributed the same day.
WHAT OTHER WAYS DOES SECOND HELPINGS FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER?
Second Helpings rescues food from grocery stores and other outlets such as dollar stores, restaurants, and farms – most places where food waste is happening. We also purchase healthy food with grants and donations to supplement rescued food, and work with local farmers to grow fresh produce.
Second Helpings also provides food to employees working on Hilton Head Island who ride the Palmetto Breeze buses from work to rural areas where residents face hunger. This program, called FILL THE NEED, operates out of the Palmetto Breeze Bus Transit Hub in Bluffton. More than 150 households per month receive groceries from this program.
HOW AND WHEN DID SECOND HELPINGS START?
In 1991, Second Helpings was founded by Guenther Hecht and his wife, Louise. They witnessed food being thrown out at local grocery stores, and they and their friends started rescuing it in the trunks of their cars in 1992. Their efforts have grown into an organization that now operates a fleet of trucks distributing more than three million pounds of food annually.
HOW CAN I VOLUNTEER?
Second Helpings needs truck volunteers, particularly those based in Bluffton and Beaufort. Truck volunteers work in teams of two or three to pick up and distribute rescued food to our Agency Partners. Volunteers are also needed on our board and committees, and for special events. We welcome all levels of expertise.
Please call our office:
843-689-3689
officeadmin@secondhelpingslc.org
HOW MANY STAFF MEMBERS DOES SECOND HELPINGS HAVE?
Second Helpings has two full time staff members (the Executive Director and Operations Administrator) and three part-time employees who coordinate our truck routes, collaborate with our Agency Partners and Food Donors, and help recruit volunteers and conduct community outreach. Our biggest resource is our 468 volunteers, who keep our costs down to a minimum. We have been recognized by the South Carolina Secretary of State as an Angel Charity for our financial stewardship and cost control.