Second Harvest has food distribution

Roughly 14,000 pounds of food was given away last Friday in Abbeville during a free food distribution by Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, according to Donal Dickens, branch manager with Second Harvest.

People pulled up in their motor vehicles into the Abbeville County Administrative Complex/DSS parking lot, where they were provided with food.

"We actually served 604 families," said Dickens Tuesday.

That translated, he said, into 1,443 individuals, and 343 motor vehicles.

"There was some carpooling," he said.

Dickens explained that this was a distribution conducted in response to the closing of a number of church food pantries in Abbeville County due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I saw the need," he said.

People from throughout Abbeville County received rescue boxes of food.

"This was a pretty big food distribution," he said.

Among the items provided in the distribution were frozen sliced hams, frozen pies, and produce like corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes and celery, as well as items such as cereal, canned fruit and peanut butter.

Second Harvest is based in the Charlotte, N.C. area, and has a number of branches, including service areas in North Carolina as well as South Carolina.

Those who showed up Friday came from throughout Abbeville County, including many from Due West.

Dickens estimated that for 90 percent of those who came to the event, this was not their first food distribution.

"They knew the protocol," he said.