Child Hunger
64% of school children across our 20 county service area qualify for free and reduced-price breakfasts & lunches. In some areas, such as Darlington or Marion counties, 80% of children depend on these programs for their meals.
It takes a village to raise a child. And sometimes it takes a village just to feed one. Harvest Hope Food Bank is here to help with after-school programs and a belief that no child should go without. See below for more information.
Harvest Hope seeks to feed these hungry children through our Kids Cafe and BackPack programs, which provide meals and high nutrition snacks for children after school.
BackPack Program
Harvest Hope Food Bank is proud to operate a BackPack Program for hungry children. This program operates during the school year and provides children who are at risk of hunger with healthy nutritious food to take home for the weekend, during school vacations, and on holidays. Backpacks or other containers are stocked with nutritious, child-friendly and easy to prepare food. They are typically distributed on Fridays or the last day children attend school for the week. We strive to fill each child’s backpack with enough food for dinner on Friday and breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks on Saturday and Sunday, enough for that child.
Friday is not just the beginning of the weekend for children with very little or no food at home; it’s the beginning of worry and hunger. Just $7.50 provides 2 breakfasts & lunches, 3 dinners, snacks, shelf-stable milk, and juice. This small gift to a child can mean the difference between going to bed hungry or going to school ready to learn.
Harvest Hope Food Bank requests help from our Faith Partners, Packing Partners, Influential Community Leaders & Businesses, Sponsors, Grants, Teachers, School Counselors and Principals to help identify and end child hunger in our communities.
If you are interested in donating or want additional information on how you can help, please reach out at (803) 254-4432 x 1102.
Kids Cafe Program/Summer Feeding
Our Kids Cafe program brings warm nutritious meals to children who are in summer camps or after school programs.
Harvest Hope is proud to operate the Kids Cafe and Summer Feeding Programs. Kids Cafe operates during the school year and provides children that are in afterschool programs such as the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, as well as those children in low income housing with hot meals Monday through Friday. Summer Feeding operates during the summer months when the children are out for summer break and provides children that are in summer programs such as the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, as well as those children in low income housing with hot meals Monday through Friday. These hot meals are prepared by a chef at a production kitchen along with many Harvest Hope Volunteers. Once the meals are cooked and sealed, they are delivered to the particular site by Harvest Hope.
We strive to provide each child with a hot meal that is healthy and nutritious to include a milk Monday through Friday.
Lunch could possibly be the last meal for some of these children during the school year and the only meal some children might get in the summer. With these hot meals, we hope to alleviate the worry of where their next meal is going to come from. With the Kids Cafe and Summer Feeding programs, we can reassure these children that they will have a hot meal after school and during the summer. It cost $3.75 per meal to feed a child for a day and $18.75 to feed a child for the week.
If you are interested in donating or volunteering at our kitchen, please contact 803-254-4432 Ext. 1120.