Allendale County Schools, Smart Box host food drive at high school

Allendale County Schools and The Smart Box teamed up Wednesday at Allendale-Fairfax High School for a food drive that put fresh groceries directly into the hands of community members from 10 a.m. to noon.

Students helped distribute the boxes, turning the high school into more than a classroom campus for two hours and into a local relief point for families trying to bridge rising grocery costs. The effort came through the district’s Food and Nutrition Department and The Smart Box, a Fairfax-based organization founded by educator and advocate Phyllis Smart in 2017.

The timing mattered in a county where access to food remains a pressing concern. The South Carolina Department of Public Health reported that Allendale County had the highest food insecurity rate in the state in 2023 at 20.2 percent, up from 16.8 percent the year before. Across South Carolina, the rate was 14.4 percent. In Allendale County, the median household income was $32,328, and about 22.0 percent of families lived in poverty, figures that help explain why a short, school-based distribution can carry real weight for local households.

The Smart Box has grown beyond its original role as an emergency pantry and after-school support program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it expanded to serve more than 1,000 residents in Allendale County and neighboring counties. The group also operates after-school care, private and group tutoring, and summer feeding programs, keeping its work tied closely to the daily routines of children and working parents.

Golden Harvest Food Bank lists The Smart Box among its more than 300 partner agencies and programs, and has described the pantry as a place where families line up early for fresh produce, canned goods and other groceries. In a rural county where access can be uneven, that kind of distribution helps stretch budgets and bring food closer to home.

Wednesday’s drive also fit a pattern already familiar in Allendale County Schools. In a previous food distribution, students in National Honor Society and BETA Club helped hand out more than 100 boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables with United Way and Bamberg Food Share. The district linked that effort to relief after Hurricane Helene, underscoring how often school campuses are called on to serve as community hubs when families need help fast.