Rural Health Team agents Wanda Green and Weatherly Thomas understand that a healthy living environment should be accessible for everyone in South Carolina. However, residents in Lee County face more barriers to healthy living than many in our state. Lee County has an adult obesity rate of forty percent. Twenty-one percent of the county residents qualify as food insecure, and thirty percent of Lee County residents have income levels below the federal poverty threshold. Wanda and Weatherly are charged with addressing the lack of access to healthy food and support for physical activity to residents in Lee County through funding from a 5-year CDC grant (Dr. Sarah Griffin, Department of Public Health Sciences, Principal Investigator and Dr. Michelle Parisi, Clemson Extension, Co-Principal Investigator).
Photo Credit: Foodshare SC
Wanda and Weatherly’s work requires that they build links between local groups to improve existing community efforts. One of the community groups they have assisted is Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Bishopville. This church has been a food provider in Lee County for almost a decade. Mt. Calvary acts as a hub, connecting twenty-five local churches to offer food to 500 families in the Lee County area. During the last six months, Rural Health and Nutrition agents increased the capacity of this grassroots effort by fostering a relationship between Mt. Calvary and FoodShareSC.
The Mt. Calvary-FoodShareSC partnership is now viable and able to offer low-cost fruits and vegetables to all Lee County residents. The partnership places special emphasis on addressing the issues faced by low-income families relating to access to fresh, affordable food.
The Mt. Calvary-FoodShareSC partnership allows Lee County residents to purchase low-cost, quality produce while maximizing purchasing power and maintaining dignity. A typical purchase consists of a family-sized box filled with twelve to fifteen varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables, with the contents changing each month. Each box contains information on the preparation and storage of the produce. Participants can purchase boxes monthly by using either cash or SNAP/EBT. If purchased with cash, the boxes cost $15. If purchased with SNAP/EBT, $5 is charged to SNAP benefits, and $10 is charged to SC Healthy Bucks.
This past February was the official beginning of the Mt. Calvary-FoodShareSC partnership. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of food boxes sold has nearly doubled, from forty-seven to almost one hundred. The contents of the boxes sold translate to more than 1,000 pounds of fresh produce on dinner tables across Lee County. Wanda and Weatherly have been instrumental in helping the group secure permission to accept SNAP benefits and SC Healthy Bucks as payment. Without these forms of payment, the lower-income households in Lee County would have limited access to participate in the program. It is special to note, this project is the first faith-based, non-profit food buying cooperative approved to accept SNAP and Healthy Bucks benefits in the entire state of South Carolina.
Billboards, word of mouth, and social media have all played a part in promoting FoodShareSC. Most recently, the local Coca-Cola Consolidated operation and Central Carolina Technical College have offered either funding or company employees to volunteer for box packing/distribution days. The funding and increased volunteer base will aid this project in reaching even more households. Lee County First Steps has also confirmed intent to purchase boxes for families enrolled in their program. It is anticipated that orders will exceed 200 boxes by the May 18th order deadline.
Submitted by: Rhonda Matthews, Rural Health and Nutrition Assistant Team Leader, Wanda Green, Lee County Rural Health and Nutrition Agent, & Weatherly Thomas, Lee County Health Extension Agent
