In South Carolina, too many families are struggling to keep food on the table while state leaders make very different choices for themselves. South Carolina’s household food insecurity rate averaged 14.5% from 2020 to 2022, and child hunger remains a serious problem across the state.
This is not just bad policy. It is a moral failure. And voters have the power to change it.
Hunger in South Carolina and Dorchester County
Dorchester County families are not separate from this crisis. Rising grocery bills, high housing costs, long drives to stores, and limited access to affordable food all hit working families hard. For parents already living paycheck to paycheck, summer can be the hardest season of the year because school breakfasts and lunches disappear just when children are home all day.
Gas prices make the problem worse. South Carolina drivers are paying a little over $4 a gallon for regular gas, which turns every trip to the grocery store, food pantry, summer meal site, or job into another financial burden.
School Meals Should Not Be a Political Fight
During the school year, free and reduced-price meals are a lifeline for children. Governor McMaster proposed using state funds to make breakfast free for all public school students, and that proposal was included in the House budget before the Senate stripped it out.
The Senate had a chance to restore the funding, but an amendment to add about $8 million for free school breakfast was tabled by a 22-20 vote.
Lawmakers did pass school meal protections that require districts to identify students in poverty, help families access meal benefits, and ban “lunch shaming,” which is progress. But they still failed to fully fund the simpler and stronger solution: universal school meals.
Summer Hunger Gets Worse
Summer should mean playgrounds, popsicles, and rest. For too many children, it means missing the breakfasts and lunches they counted on during the school year.
The federal Summer EBT program provides $120 per eligible child for groceries when school is out. South Carolina is listed as not participating in Summer EBT for 2026, meaning families here are being denied grocery support that could go directly to children’s plates.
Yes, churches, schools, nonprofits, and food banks are working hard to feed children. Lowcountry Food Bank and other groups help families find food resources every day. But charity cannot repair a political decision to leave federal food money on the table.
Budget Priorities in Plain Sight
While children and families are being told to make do with less, lawmakers are taking care of themselves.
If finalized as currently written, the FY 2026-27 South Carolina budget would raise lawmakers’ in-district legislative expense allowance from $1,000 a month to $2,500 a month beginning December 1, 2026 (SC Legislature H.5126 Part IB). That is an increase from $12,000 a year to $30,000 a year, or an $18,000 annual increase in that specific allowance.
That is a 150% increase in the allowance itself. When combined with the base legislative salary of $10,400, salary plus allowance would rise from $22,400 to $40,400, which is about an 80% increase.
This matters because South Carolina legislators are considered part-time lawmakers, with the regular session running roughly from January through May, and many members also maintain outside employment as attorneys, business owners, consultants, retirees, or professionals in other fields.
The issue is not whether public service should be compensated. The issue is priorities. In a year when children need food, schools need support, and families are drowning in costs, lawmakers found room to advance an $18,000-a-year increase in their own monthly allowance.
Why They Rewrote the Pay Language
Last year, the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down a prior legislative pay increase because the state constitution prohibits lawmakers from raising their own compensation during the current term.
The current budget language appears designed to avoid that problem by keeping the $1,000 monthly amount in place from July 1, 2026 through November 1, 2026, then increasing the allowance to $2,500 a month beginning December 1, 2026, after the next election cycle begins.
In plain English: they know the courts objected before, so now they are trying to time and structure the increase differently.
Important Budget Disclaimer
This provision is in the current FY 2026-27 budget bill language, but the budget has not yet been finalized. As of this writing, the official H.5126 budget page lists the latest version as “As Amended by the House of Representatives” on May 6, 2026, with no final ratified act posted yet.
Hold Them Accountable
These are choices. Republican leaders chose not to fully fund universal school breakfast. They chose not to participate in Summer EBT. They chose to leave churches, nonprofits, schools, and food banks to fill gaps that government could help close. And at the same time, they found a path to increase their own compensation. If we want different outcomes, we need different leaders. South Carolina needs elected officials who will:
- Fully fund universal free school breakfast and lunch.
- Opt into Summer EBT so families receive summer grocery help.
- Protect and strengthen SNAP and child nutrition programs.
- Expand summer meal access so geography and transportation do not keep children hungry.
- Put children and working families ahead of political self-protection.
If you are tired of watching kids in Dorchester County and across South Carolina go hungry while politicians pad their own paychecks, the answer is simple: show up, vote them out, and send people to Columbia who will fill children’s plates, not just their own.
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