Rock Hill food pantry says it needs community help after aid from Trump admin slows
Rock Hill-area food pantries lost drastic amounts of funding over the weekend as part of the Trump administration’s broad attempts to reduce government spending.
One local pantry is eliminating frozen and perishable goods and turning to donors to help “fill the void.”
Pilgrims’ Inn, a nonprofit that provides emergency services including a women and children’s shelter, is losing 50% of monthly federal resources for its food pantry.
That’s about 75,000 pounds of lost food for Pilgrims’ Inn patrons, according to Executive Director JaVonda Palmer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Emergency Food Assistance Program accounts for about half of the pantry’s overall stock, with the other half coming from community donations.
Frozen meat, vegetable and fruit shipments are “totally canceled” along with dairy items, Palmer said. Non-perishable shipments like canned goods and pasta will continue.
“That’s going to greatly impact the community,” Palmer said. “We are relying on a community effort to help make up those differences.”
Federal government cut food assistance programs
Cuts are the result of a federal decision last month to pause $500 million in emergency food assistance program funding, which buys food from farmers and gives it to pantries. Local food pantries were unsure for weeks how that would impact their own budgets.
Gordon Bell, executive director at Hope of Rock Hill, told The Herald in March he didn’t know what funding would look like long-term. Administration changes often result in paused or delayed payments, he said.
At least one-third of Hope of Rock Hill’s food comes from the federal program. It hands out more than 15 tons of groceries a week, Bell said.
“I’m hoping this is just one of them, a short-term pause … It’s almost a wait and see,” Bell said in March. “If it was cut, it would hurt. You can’t answer any other way.”
Nonprofits in the Rock Hill area were notified about temporary budget cuts over the weekend.
Pilgrims’ Inn received an email on Sunday from Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina announcing its federal assistance was cut in half, Palmer said. Second Harvest serves as a pass-through agency for the federal program and distributes food to more than 950 organizations across 24 counties in the Carolinas.
This loss followed the cancellation of another federal food assistance program, the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, also worth $500 million. Together, the two programs account for about $1 billion in frozen and cut funds nationwide, Reuters reported.
Kathy Helms, director of finance and human resources at Second Harvest, said the federal pause will end, but it remains unclear whether funding levels will remain steady or face permanent cuts.
If funding is restored in full, Helms said organizations like Pilgrims’ Inn could resume meat and dairy shipments this summer.
Donations wanted: Food pantries need community to fill the void
Palmer said her administrative team is discussing special projects to encourage more donations. One idea is a monthly “stuff the bus” campaign in which Pilgrims Inn partners with local retailers to park a bus in their lots and invite customers to drop off extra items they purchase.
Pilgrims’ Inn accepts community donations at its 236 West Main St. location in Rock Hill from Monday through Friday. The pantry will continue accepting perishable donations such as meat and cheese from businesses or individuals. Donors can also give money, toiletries or other household items.
“We cannot survive or thrive without our donors or without our community partners,” Palmer said. “We cannot do it alone.”
Cameron Hurst, the executive director of the Clover Area Assistance Center, said “all nonprofits are scrambling” regardless of whether their funding was cut. The Clover Area Assistance Center does not receive emergency food assistance program money.
However, private donors will face a strain as more organizations ask for help, leaving fewer resources to go around. That could have a “trickle down” impact on her nonprofit’s services, too, she said.
“When they have to start looking elsewhere for funding and different types of programs, what will happen to some of those private fundings that we might rely on?” Hurst said.
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Rock Hill food pantry says it needs community help after aid from Trump admin slows."
