Hungry in paradise: Thousands in Beaufort Co. on verge of losing food benefits due to shutdown
Despite Beaufort County’s reputation as a vacation playground and home of the well-to-do, particularly Hilton Head Island, more than 4,000 local households rely on federal food assistance to get by from month to month because of the higher cost of living, according to not-for-profits that run food pantries.
This may change come Saturday as food assistance benefits for children and their parents will no longer be funded as a result of the inaction of the two political parties in Washington D.C. to even discuss a new federal budget.
The Trump administration says that food assistance, commonly referred to as SNAP, will end beginning Nov. 1 as a result of the federal government shutdown.
And the stoppage has officials at area food shelves bracing for an anticipated increase in demand — and calling on the public to step up food and financial donations to meet it.
“So many people in the area who are already working full-time are on SNAP,” says Lori Opozda, executive director of HELP of Beaufort, which runs the largest food pantry north of the Broad River. “We’re probably going to see a large increase in people coming in.”
With the cost of food already high, the government shutdown has led to “a perfect storm,” says Courtney Hampson, the CEO for Bluffton Self Help, which runs a free market of fresh produce serving 650 Bluffton families each month.
It’s misleading to view the county as widely affluent, she said as she described the drive from Exit 8 to Hilton Head.
“If you only look to your left, you pass gated community after gated community, Hampson said. “Some have fountains. They all have paid security. Their landscaping gets refreshed every 30 days. But if you made a right-hand turn off 278 on that route to Hilton Head and then made one more right or left, you would end up on a dirt road, where folks are living in housing conditions that are absolutely unacceptable.”
With the SNAP cut looming and more than 1,200 families registered to shop at Bluffton Self Help, she added, the not-for-profit is preparing for a food rush.
What is SNAP?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a monthly food assistance program used by more than 40 million Americans. The anti-hunger program is widely known as “food stamps.”
Each family receives benefits on an EBT card, much like a debit card, each month. To qualify, South Carolina families must make less than 30% above the official poverty line. This would be a net income of $2,600 each month for a family of four.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is warning that benefits will not go out beginning Saturday due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.
In Beaufort County, where Data USA and Feeding America say 10.4% of families are living below the poverty line and 12.3% don’t have access to enough nutritious food, 4,400 households received SNAP benefits in September.
Food demand jumps in Beaufort
HELP of Beaufort has already seen 800 people walk through the door at the food pantry on Ribaut Road over the past 30 days, a 22% increase, Opozda said. The increase resulted from SNAP changes that have already happened, she said.
“If they cut it completely, we’re going to be really, really impacted, with how many people are coming in,” Opozda said.
She worries demand could skyrocket by as much as 50%, like it did during the COVID-19 epidemic. Another concern is the timing: the cut, if carried out, would occur just before the holidays, when demand already is high.
HELP of Beaufort has put out urgent pleas on Facebook for residents to consider hosting food drives or donating food or funds. The not-for-profit already relies on charitable giving to help run an in-house food pantry and grocery and meal delivery programs.
‘Serious problem’ looms for some
An hour after HELP of Beaufort had opened Monday morning, a dozen people had already showed up, putting it on pace to outstrip the 29 who sought food the entire day last Monday, said volunteer Donna Mical as she stocked shelves with Barbara Rhymaun, another volunteer.
HELP of Beaufort officials worry about the impact that the loss of the SNAP program will have locally.
“It’s going to be a serious problem for some of these folks,” Rhymaun said.
Supplies needed most are canned goods and fruit, pasta, peanut butter, jelly, ketchup and mustard, Rhymaun said.
“We come here when we can,” said Annalee Hitchcock, who was shopping with her young son Cylas. “It’s definitely helpful.”
Bluffton Self Help outspending budget
Hampson, of Bluffton Self Help, says the not-for-profit is outspending its budget by 36%. But “food is a non-negotiable,” Hampson said.
“I do not see a scenario where we say, ‘Sorry, we are out of food.’ We will continue to stock the shelves,” she said.
Misperception about the wealth of the area can be an obstacle to raising funds.
“People think that this is an area of affluence with pockets of vulnerability and poverty,” Hampson says. “And it’s actually the opposite.” In reality, she says, pockets of affluence in Beaufort and Jasper counties are relied upon to support the larger portion of the community that is in need.
‘Stratospheric volume’ on Hilton Head
Despite offering a number of different services, the first 18 calls Deep Well received Monday morning were from locals looking to schedule a food pantry appointment. This is according to their Executive Director Sandy Gillis, who says that their phones have been ringing off the hook for the past two weeks.
“People are scared,” she said. In the background, another phone rang.
For months, Deep Well, a Hilton Head-based non-profit, has seen the number of people seeking food assistance increase from around 800 per month to well north of 1,000. Forty percent of those shopping in their food pantry are below the age of 18. Twelve percent are over the age of 60.
Year to date, they are serving numbers comparable to the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Gillis said.
And now, people who have never used Deep Well’s services are asking how they can access them.
“We’re not going from a low volume to a high volume [of need]. We are going from an already extremely high volume to a stratospheric volume, potentially,” Gillis said.
For Gillis, the issue expands far beyond the food. Losing food assistance creates a cascading effect on overall household budgets, including critical expenses like rent and utility bills, she said. SNAP benefits for some are a building block and budgeting tool that is now potentially being pulled away, Gillis said.
“What this creates is not just food insecurity, it is a whole family insecurity,” Gillis said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 3:04 PM with the headline "Hungry in paradise: Thousands in Beaufort Co. on verge of losing food benefits due to shutdown."
