‘It keeps me from walking around hungry.’ 32K to lose SNAP benefits in Horry County

Horry County resident Marcie Bibow is bracing to cut meals.

The 62-year-old former paralegal is one of thousands of Horry County SNAP recipients who won’t receive essential benefits to purchase food starting this weekend.

“It’s very scary because it means there may be days where I can only eat once or twice, instead of three times a day,” Bibow said.

For the past five years, Bibow has used SNAP benefits to help pay for food. And she’s not alone. Roughly 32,000 individuals — or 16,000 households — rely on SNAP benefits in Horry County. For those recipients, SNAP can be a lifeline.

“It’s an unreasonably and ridiculously high number of people that experience food insecurity,” said Dane Hanna, director of Shepherd’s Table, a community kitchen and pantry serving about 250 Horry County households every week.

But amid the federal government shutdown, the United States Department of Agriculture instructed the South Carolina Department of Social Services to hold all November SNAP issuances. Recipients’ existing funds will remain on SNAP EBT cards, but new monthly funds won’t be issued on Nov. 1.

“Immediately, I will feel it, because I look forward to that to get my essential needs,” said 80-year-old retiree Lee, who asked not to use her last name. “The money that I get for my Social Security, once I pay my rent and my bills, I basically have not even $100 left to buy anything. [SNAP benefits] help me get the food that I need, even though it’s not much, but at least I know I have something.”

Ahead of the Oct. 31 cut off, local food insecurity resources say they’re being “slammed” with new and returning clients preparing for the worst. Over in Conway, Shepherd’s Table saw a 25% increase in traffic Tuesday.

“We’ve seen a big increase in people coming to us who typically didn’t, like last Thursday, we registered 19 new households, and then on Monday, 17 new households that have not come to us for assistance,” said Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach Executive Director Tracy Gardner.

Roughly a quarter of clients at Helping Hand, which is dedicated to assisting folks with short-term needs like food and rent, also receive SNAP benefits.

“We had a couple that came in just last week. Dad is working, mom has a 9-month-old and a kindergartener, and they get SNAP, and she said they hadn’t been to our pantry in … like eight months or something, but she said, ‘We’re anticipating this is going to get really hard for us,’” said Gardner.

Across Horry County, SNAP provides vital assistance to residents of all ages and from all walks of life, from full-time employees who can’t cover their expenses, to unemployed people, to retirees. Nearly half of Horry County SNAP recipients — about 46% — are 18 years or younger, and roughly a quarter are over the age of 50.

“It directly affects children, families with children, senior citizens who are living on a very fixed income, people with disabilities,” said Gardner. “We service a lot of people who are working, but it’s still very difficult to meet their basic needs, and that’s what we’re here for.”

And even before the official cut off, recipients are already feeling the loss of SNAP benefits.

“This is going to be a major setback for me … It keeps me from walking around hungry,” said 59-year-old Joe, who asked only to be identified by his first name. “I’m trying to conserve what I have right now, so I can make, hopefully, make it through.”

Even with SNAP benefits in place, fall and winter tend to be busier seasons for organizations providing food assistance because workers in the tourism and hospitality industries often see their hours cut in the off season. On top of professional changes, the holidays bring additional expenses.

For SNAP recipients going without benefits, this holiday season could be especially difficult.

“It’s embarrassing,” Bibow said through tears. “My seven nieces don’t understand why I can’t be generous with them.”

SNAP recipients who spoke with The Sun News say they plan to seek support from food pantries, visit community kitchens, hope and pray for the return of their SNAP benefits.

Those in need of food and other essentials can visit organizations like Shepherd’s Table, Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach, North Strand Helping Hand and South Strand Helping Hand. The Lowcountry Food Bank helps locate nearby food pantries by visiting its website, or calling 843-747-8146 ext. 100. United Way also offers a hotline to find support, which can be accessed by calling 211.

Folks interested in helping their food-insecure neighbors can contact Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach, Shepherd’s Table and other organizations helping feed Horry County about donating food money or their time.

“We need all the support we can get from the community, just small donations, pick up a couple extra packets of the instant mashed potatoes or a couple cans of soup, things like that, to donate to pantries,” Gardner said.