“I Ain’t Got No Extra Money and I’m Used to Having Extra Money”: The Capacity for Low-Income Pickens County, SC Households to Manage Food Security During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Pickens County, SC residents experienced disruptions to the state of their household food security status during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through job losses, work hour reductions, and the increased responsibilities of childcare due to school closures, low-income households were forced to adjust their food provisioning habits and food budgets in order to maintain food security. As national and regional food insecurity rates rose from pre-COVID-19 pandemic rates, a need arose to research how households managed their food security status. In order to address this research, the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided funding for qualitative research. As a result, thirty-nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen low-income Pickens County, SC residents. Through these interviews, and subsequent coding procedures, several themes emerged suggesting how these households attempted to maintain food security during the COVID-19 pandemic. These themes include the use of supplemental government support payments such as P-EBT, the expanded Child Tax Credit, and Economic Impact Payments. These themes also include the use of an improved emergency food system, such as school meal deliveries and drive through food pantry services. Through these mechanisms, it is believed that the Pickens County, SC food insecurity rate was able to remain stable during the COVID-19 pandemic.