NEWBERRY, S.C. — Newberry County is getting a new food pantry to help serve the needs of the community.
After almost 20 years of serving residents, the Living Hope Foundation Food Pantry finally has a place to call their own.
"We've been all over the world, we started downtown on Main Street in 2005, then we went to the old building at the church, then the skating rink, and now we have a building we can put our name on," said Executive Director John Glasgow.
The Living Hope Foundation bought a property right across the street from Newberry Elementary School. The old house used to serve as a fraternity house at Newberry College, and needed lots of renovations according to city officials.
The pantry says they see a great need for food in the area every day. Glasgow says their organization serves at least 500 families a month.
"We've been able to serve many people, and there are people in this area that really need the food," Glasgow explained. "When we started we didn't really know how much or how many until we actually got involved."
In past, the food pantry has made deliveries or hosted pick ups for people every so often, but now they have a central location where they can give away more food, more consistently.
According to Data USA, 25% of the people in Newberry County are in poverty. County Councilman, Carlton Kinard says the absence of a grocery store that used to serve the City of Whitmire, has caused more food insecurity than ever before.
"Newberry county is a rural county and we know that there are some dire needs when it comes to providing resources for our homeless and also for those who are in food deserts around the county," Kinard said.
When families come to pick up food they can get fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, canned goods, and anything else they may need.
The Living Hope Foundation Food Pantry now plans to host food giveaways every Thursday from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Their first official food giveaway will be Thursday, April 7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at their new location at 1830 Nance Street in Newberry. The food pantry sits directly across the street from Newberry Elementary School.
