In Dorchester County, 8.7% of the population does not have access to sufficient food to meet basic needs, including 11% of children.

Thanks to a recent Community Development Block Grant, help is on the way.

Dorchester County will receive a $215,000 grant to address food insecurity in low-to-moderate (LMI) areas where these issues were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lowcountry Food Bank will administer the grant by allocating food, refrigerators and freezers to six of its partner agencies that serve these areas located in the western portion of the County. The entities that will receive assistance are Greater St. Paul AME Church and Pringletown Community/Morris Chapel in Dorchester, Upper Dorchester Community Ministries and Shady Grove UMC in St. George, Bethel AME Church in Ridgeville, and House of Prayer and Praise in Harleyville.

Daniel Prentice, Deputy Administrator and Chief Financial Officer of Dorchester County, says, "Dorchester County appreciates the opportunity to receive funds in order to partner with the Lowcountry Food Bank to fight hunger and food insecurity. Bringing funds into our community to address this issue is more important than ever. We thank the South Carolina Department of Commerce and Berkeley Charleston Dorchester Council of Governments for assisting the County in administering this program."

The funds for this grant will be passed to the County from the South Carolina Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The CDBG program is designed to provide assistance to local governments to improve economic opportunities and meet community needs, particularly for people with low to moderate income.

Prepared by the Public Information Office