CHARLESTON — Between May and September, the Lowcountry Food Bank lost out on 21,384 gallons of milk and 33,750 one-dozen cartons of eggs.

The nonprofit, which serves 10 coastal communities, was one of four South Carolina food banks that didn’t receive 1.5 million pounds of food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture during that time. They didn’t get the pallets of meat, dried fruit and cheese they often rely on for people in need.

For the Lowcountry Food Bank, the loss amounted to 615,787 pounds. Nationwide, 94 million pounds of federal food aid that was expected this summer never arrived.

Starting in the spring, the Trump administration canceled $500 million from the USDA's Emergency Food Assistance Program that sends dairy, meat, eggs and produce to food banks, roughly one-fourth o

See Full Page