Too many in Richland County lack adequate food — and COVID-19 has made things worse

On food insecurity

Food insecurity is nothing new to Richland County; it is the state of living each day without reliable access to adequate amounts of food that is both affordable and nutritious.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only made this situation worse: just consider the businesses that have closed, the rapidly emptying shelves in grocery stores and the schools scrambling to find ways to feed students who rely on the daily meals they provide.

This has left many people across Richland County in general — and within District 8 specifically — struggling to prepare for the weeks of isolation that now appear likely.

According to Feeding America more than 65,000 residents of Richland County were affected by food insecurity last year. I believe that isn’t acceptable in our state’s second-largest country, and that’s why I’m running for Richland County Council’s District 8 seat.

I believe that now is the time for us to step up and support our local and minority farmers. And I am calling for more coordination in Richland County to invest in our local food system — and to make food insecurity a principal issue moving forward.

In the years to come, let us be able to say that our leaders and our community came together during the health pandemic — and that we properly addressed the long-term needs of Richland County’s citizens.

Let us begin to shift from the reactive to the proactive by providing much needed relief to our food insecure communities. We need to act now!

Hamilton Grant, Columbia

Grant is a candidate for Richland County Council’s District 8 seat.

On COVID-19

Here are some COVID-19 thoughts that have come to mind:

▪ If our president always thought that the coronavirus was a pandemic — as he recently claimed — then why did he wait three months to prepare for it?

▪ If our president had acted three months sooner, how many American lives could have been saved?

▪ Will the 1% who got extra millions thanks to the 2019 tax cuts donate some of that money to the food banks now being used by Americans who are without jobs?

Thomas Balliet, Bluffton

On drunk driving

Right now our society is showing that it will ask for and make great sacrifices in order to save lives — as it should.

In that same spirit of saving lives and protecting our community, Mothers Against Drunk Driving implores our state Legislature to pass a measure that would save lives, only impact those convicted of DUI and cost the government nothing because offenders would foot the entire bill.

Senate Bill 18 would require all convicted DUI offenders to have ignition interlock devices on their vehicles; currently we only require some offenders to do so. This bill is an important reform that has already made substantial progress towards passage, but we need our lawmakers to finally make it law.

When South Carolinians fully hit the roads of South Carolina again, let’s be able to do so under less threat from repeat drunk-driving offenders.

Steven Burritt, Lexington

Burritt is the executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving SC.

On McMaster

Why hasn’t Gov. Henry McMaster closed down the state of South Carolina?

We are continuing to spread COVID-19 within our state, and we’re also threatening our entire country. How irresponsible can you get?

I’m angry.

Sam McQuatters, Lexington

This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 4:27 PM.