Press Release
Lowcountry Food Bank (LCFB) held a Fueled by Fresh matching gift challenge June 1st – June 3rd to raise funds to purchase fresh produce for Lowcountry neighbors who experience food insecurity. Fueled by Fresh proceeds help provide neighbors with access to healthy food at mobile food distributions in locations convenient to them. During this June 1-3 challenge, our community raised $37,125, and LCFB Board of Director member Michael Wilson and his wife Pam generously provided a $20,000 Fueled by Fresh match which enabled donors to double their impact for a total of $57,125 raised.
The Wilsons' established the Fueled by Fresh initiative with LCFB in early 2020. These mobile food distributions enable neighbors who face hunger to access healthy food in their own community, breaking down barriers to food access like a lack of transportation and finding food at a convenient time and location. Mobile food distributions also help fill the summer meal gaps that our children face when school meals are no longer available once school is out of session.
A Fueled by Fresh mobile food distribution was held on June 1 at Cathedral of Praise Church in North Charleston. Michael and Pam Wilson, and several LCFB Board members, helped pack and distribute food. Neighbors who came to the no-cost food distribution had the opportunity to choose the fresh fruits and vegetables they wished to take home.
Demand for food assistance remains high at 9.6% in the 10 coastal South Carolina counties LCFB serves. High prices and shortages of goods greatly affects LCFB’s food-insecure neighbors who may already be facing challenges, like having to choose whether to buy gas at a significantly higher cost, pay rent or a utility bill, or buying the food they need to stay healthy.
“Especially in these inflationary economic times, we need monetary support for our food programs for seniors, children, families, veterans and individuals throughout coastal South Carolina,” said Nick Osborne, LCFB President and CEO. “Michael and Pam Wilson’s generosity enables us to procure and distribute truckloads of healthy food to thousands of our neighbors.” Approximately 40% of the food LCFB distributes is fresh produce.
LCFB makes equitable food access a priority, and works strategically to reach neighbors and communities that have the highest food insecurity rates in the 10 coastal counties we serve. The challenges of families are heightened by the fact that governmental, pandemic-era emergency food programs and unemployment benefits that were created to help families overcome new barriers to food access have expired, which creates a gap that threatens families' overall wellbeing.
For more information about fighting hunger in the Lowcountry, visit the Lowcountry Food Bank website at lowcountryfoodbank.org. to donate funds, volunteer, or find food assistance.
