S.C. community college food bank sees spike in need with pandemic

CHARLESTON (AP) — A food bank that helps students and staff at a Charleston community college has seen the need more than double since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The Post and Courier reported that a food bank at the main campus of the two-year Trident Technical College gave out about 2,000 pounds of food a month before the pandemic started. Now, the newspaper reports, they are giving out about 4,700 pounds of food a month.
Christine Solomon is a faculty member who oversees the food bank which was started by the Phi Theta Kappa honor society five years ago. She said demand spiked at the beginning of the pandemic and then slowed over the summer when fewer students were on campus. But the need resumed with the fall session and has been fairly consistent since then, she said.
Students, faculty and staff can use the food bank — they only need a current college email address. Many of the students who use the service have lost jobs or hours at their job due to the pandemic. Carmela Gordon, a faculty member who helps run the facility, said people who are getting food tend to skew older. They are sometimes also supporting children or other family members. Younger students who come by for food are often bringing it home to feed their families, Solomon said.
Community college students often balance full-time jobs with going to school and struggle with child care costs, the newspaper reported.