Most organizations would be thrilled to log year-over-year double-digit growth in demand. But for The Lord’s Food Pantry in Shallotte, that jump in demand from 2024 to 2025 means more people in southern Brunswick County are in financial distress.
Since the food pantry relocated in 2022 to a large metal building just off U.S. 17, it has seen a more than 80% increase in the clients it serves, according to Mike Claxton, TLFP board president. Some people are farm laborers. Some come from Columbus County; some drive up from South Carolina. The majority, however, are Brunswick County residents.
“Looking just at our 2024-to-2025 numbers, we’re seeing a 32% increase in families served and a 37% increase in individuals,” Claxton said.
That works out to between 190 and 200 families per week or about 600 to 650 people.
“We’re seeing larger families and a lot of senior individuals who aren’t making it on Social Security,” Claxton continued. “Lower-income people are being hit; I think some of them wonder about what will happen if they lose their Medicaid.”
Fellow board member Dan Shaw points out that, amid a Brunswick County development boom, many people – especially newcomers – might not realize the level of poverty around them.
“I’m speculating, but here we are, in the fastest-growing county in North Carolina. I think people come here looking for a job and think they are going to make some money,” he said. “Then winter comes, and the job goes away.”
Some of the poverty has long been in the area: people living in substandard houses along unpaved roads, Mike Claxton’s wife and fellow board member, Deb, pointed out. “One of our client’s well water is not even potable,” she said.
Shallotte Mayor Walt Eccard, whose wife volunteers at the food pantry, understands the economic dichotomy. Although hundreds of new apartments have gone up in this shopping hub town, and rents there are generally more affordable than in, say, Leland, there are still people in need.
“Shallotte has a pretty active commercial business sector, and our population is increasing; there are a lot of projects ongoing,” he said. “From that point of view, our economy is pretty good. But countywide, we need more affordable housing. While I don’t have statistics, it is true that while our (tourist) seasons have become longer, it’s still a seasonal economy in terms of restaurants and stores.”
“Camp United Methodist Church in Shallotte hosts a Friday night free dinner where they serve an average of 750 to 800 people each week,” Eccard added.
The Lord’s Food Pantry is a program of the South Brunswick Interchurch Council and is supported by 14 area congregations, that – according to the organization’s website – “strive to be the church of Jesus Christ to our neighbors in need from hunger to hope.” The original food pantry started in the early 1980s, housed initially in a back room of the old county courthouse in Bolivia and then in a vacant Red and White Food Store. When a hurricane destroyed the store, Shallotte’s Camp United Methodist offered 770 square feet of space in its basement.
The price – free of charge – was right, but the church’s location on a busy street and its warren of small basement rooms proved challenging for both volunteers and clients.
“We had no place to store food, especially fresh produce,” Mike Claxton said, noting that as much as 80% of produce had to be thrown away in summer.
Still, said Deb Claxton, the food pantry continued to serve its clients every Saturday without missing a beat, even during the COVID pandemic. It is the only food pantry in the county to provide weekly allotments of food, which strive to contain three days’ worth of sustenance for a family or individual.
In 2019, the organization changed its name to The Lord’s Food Pantry, and board members began a search for a larger, more convenient space.
The warehouse-type building that has been home to TLFP since June 2022 fits that bill.
“It has a walk-in refrigerator,” Mike Claxton said. “The senior center next door is not open on weekends and allows us to use their space for intake. Then (clients) drive around into our parking lot. It allows us to handle a lot more clients.”
The current leased location has provided TLFP essential stability, but its owner has talked about selling it. The organization would like to be the buyer: In addition to serving the food pantry well, the building has potential for expansion, stated board member Cyndi Shaw, Dan’s wife.
“We see a need for possible expansion, but, being a leaseholder, we’re not able to expand or make any significant changes to the building,” she said.
Acknowledging that they are likely in a buy-or-move situation, food pantry board members have retained a Wilmington-based consultant to help them plan for a roughly $1 million capital campaign that would allow the organization to purchase and even improve their current quarters. There is no room in the annual budget for anything besides current operations.
About 60% of the organization’s revenue comes from church and individual donations; the remainder comes from grants. The all-volunteer organization uses that money to purchase food from the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina in Wilmington and other places. One Saturday each month the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides extra food to distribute to the food pantry’s North Carolina clients. A “miracle garden” in the warm months yields fresh produce for the weekly food bags.
“But with the influx of clients, we need more,” Mike Claxton said, noting that TLFP has already had to cut back the purchase of essential toiletries and diapers to free up more money for food. And the food pantry received word from the government recently that its federal grant money could be paused or discontinued.
