Lowcountry Food Bank On the Way to $5 Million Goal with Over $2.5 Million Raised

Growing Forward Campaign rolled out in phases to purchase new 60,000 sq. ft
facility

CHARLESTON, S.C., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lowcountry is facing a
startling threat: Hunger! In the effort to continue its vital mission of
feeding and educating the poor and hungry of South Carolina, the Lowcountry
Food Bank launched a $5 million Growing Forward Campaign to find a new
home. After completing Phase I of the campaign by raising $2.5 million, the
Lowcountry Food Bank was able to acquire its new 60,000 square foot
facility to house its expanded distribution center. This centralized
headquarters location will serve 14 percent of Lowcountry residents who are
at risk for going hungry and the nearly 55,000 children who go hungry in
coastal South Carolina each day.

"As the costs for the basic sustenance for a family continues to rise,
the Lowcountry Food Bank is playing an ever increasing role in combating
hunger throughout the Greater Charleston Region," said North Charleston
Mayor R. Keith Summey. "An organization with such an overwhelmingly
successful capital campaign is confirmation of the Lowcountry Food Bank's
resounding support from the community. I am excited to see the Lowcountry
Food Bank's new facility opening in North Charleston, centrally located, to
best serve the Lowcountry's residents in need."

Conveniently located along the South Carolina coast, the Lowcountry
Food Bank's new Community Food and Nutrition Center is nearly twice the
size of the organization's current 37,000 square foot location. In 2007,
the Lowcountry Food Bank distributed over nine million pounds of food
throughout the 10 coastal county areas of South Carolina. With this new
facility, the organization will be able to reach their goal of distributing
18 million pounds of food a year by 2013, a 93.5 percent increase!

After completing a major renovation, the Community Food and Nutrition
Center will house a complete warehouse and distribution center, along with
a new staff wing for the organization's 30 full-time staff members. In
addition, the new building will accommodate an agency training center that
will supply in-house agency workshops and training and nutrition seminars,
a volunteer workroom for those providing more than 21,000 volunteer hours
each year, and a BackPack Buddies packing room where volunteers and staff
will pack and distribute more than 4,000 backpacks to Lowcountry school
children annually.

"The Lowcountry Food Bank has continued to work hard to bring civil
awareness to the plight of the poor and the hungry throughout the coastal
counties of South Carolina," said Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry M. Hallman,
Jr. "The relocation to this new building will greatly facilitate the
redistribution of food products in a timely and effective manner and will
allow the Lowcountry Food Bank to better serve those who are in pressing
need of food services."

After facing the loss of their current building to the Noisette
redevelopment project, the Lowcountry Food Bank launched the Growing
Forward Campaign to keep their doors open while striving to reduce hunger
in the Lowcountry. Through hundreds and thousands of pledges and donations,
along with corporate and individual sponsorships, Phase I brought in $2.5
million. With the launch of Phase II, the Growing Forward Campaign goal is
to obtain $1.5 million in additional pledges, donations and sponsorships.
Phase II proceeds will go toward renovations of the new Community Food and
Nutrition Center, including the purchase of new food processing systems and
freezers, roof repairs, updated distribution docks and the addition of the
building's production kitchen and repack center.

Another aspect of the Growing Forward's Phase I was selecting a
chairman for the campaign. Beginning January 1, 2008, Shawn Jenkins,
President and CEO of local healthcare technology company, Benefitfocus(R),
took over the role of chairman. As Chair, Jenkins is committed to the
mission of the Lowcountry Food Bank and the objectives and goals of the
Growing Forward Campaign. Serving alongside the Lowcountry Food Bank
Executive Director, Jermaine Husser, Jenkins will help provide guidance,
leadership and enthusiasm for the Growing Forward executive committee.

"It is an honor to be part of such a critical campaign, which supports
the Lowcountry coastal citizens who are in need of healthy food and
nutrition," shared Jenkins. "The money we are raising will build a
foundational legacy to serve the needs of those in the future and help in
our quest to end hunger."

"Serving others is the heartbeat of our organization as we work
together to feed the poor and hungry and educate the public about domestic
hunger solutions," stated Husser. "Everyday the Lowcountry Food Bank
witnesses the real strength of its mission in the vital bridges it builds
between local industry and community service organizations. Acquiring a new
location for our Community Food and Nutrition Center is essential to
continuing our operations. The Growing Forward Campaign will help us
successfully fund this need."

About The Lowcountry Food Bank

The Lowcountry Food Bank is a member of America's Second Harvest-the
nation's Food Bank Network, the largest provider of emergency food
distribution in the United States. The Lowcountry Food Bank is a
clearinghouse for donated food products that are distributed to a network
of more than 320 member agencies including soup kitchens, homeless shelters
and emergency food pantries. The Lowcountry Food Bank's mission is feed the
hungry of the 10 coastal counties of South Carolina by soliciting and
distributing healthy food and grocery products to nonprofit agencies
serving the poor and by educating the public about the problems of and
solutions to domestic hunger. For more information, visit
http://www.lowcountryfoodbank.org or call (843) 747-8146.



Miriam Coombes
Lowcountry Food Bank
843-747-8146 ext. 112 | mcoombes@lcfbank.org

Joy Capps
Benefitfocus
843-991-9276 | joy.capps@benefitfocus.com



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[Via Real Estate Newswire]