Spring 2026 Newsletter

Featured:

Food security takes center stage at Duncan distribution

Affordable housing advocacy efforts with GOAL Justice

Environmental Justice group visits Annie’s House

Volunteer Opportunities

Food security initiatives key with increased food costs

As food costs increase, offering free food to families facing food insecurity is key to supporting low-income communities in Greenville and Spartanburg. In addition to continuing our Nicholtown food distribution on Thursdays, Sustaining Way’s partnership with Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Duncan has served an additional 150 families in the Upstate.

Every third Saturday, Sustaining Way AmeriCorps VISTA member Angelia Edwards and Executive Director Michael Brown lead church members in passing out thousands of pounds of food. The partnership began in November as low-income families faced cuts to SNAP programming for six weeks.

About 133 billion pounds of food is wasted annually at an estimated cost of $162 billion. About 150,000 pounds of food are wasted daily by Americans, about 1 pound per person. In 2024, 18.3 million households, or 13% of Americans, faced food insecurity.

Sustaining Way also composts at Annie’s House in Nicholtown to manage community food waste. If you or someone you know has compostable food waste, we invite you to drop by 60 Baxter St. to add it to our compost pile. Email hello@sustainingway.org for details.

Affordable housing advocates join as a community with GOAL Justice

Sustaining Way joined more than 1,000 Greenville community members at First Baptist Church in April as GOAL Justice welcomed faith-based organizations to discuss how to tackle community issues such as mental health, bullying, and access to affordable housing. GOAL Justice, or Greenville Organized for Accountable Leadership, leads more than 34 congregations and faith communities.

GOAL Justice said Greenville County ranks among the top three nationwide for eviction rates and is urging leaders to support legislation that would seal or remove eviction records.

Leaders in attendance said they support stronger eviction-related legislation that would put a moratorium on how long an eviction can stay on your record. Currently it

GOAL Justice: www.goaljustice.com/

Housing Uncertainty: www.greenvillesc.gov/1764/Homeless-Services-Resource-Guide

S.C. Energy Justice partnership visits Annie’s House

Sustaining Way welcomed community partners from around the state to Annie’s House for a tour of Nicholtown last month. The first EJ Strong PREP meeting, which is a new Environmental Justice (EJ) partnership building off the S.C. Department of Environmental Services kicked off in Oct. 2024. The May tour highlighted Sustaining Way’s efforts to offer disaster risk reduction in Greenville.

According to the SCDES, EJ Strong PREP aims to better prepare communities for potential environmental impacts, such as natural disasters, and to empower residents to participate in local decision-making on environmental issues that could affect their daily lives. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded $1 million in grant funding to the agency’s EJ program to expand its successful efforts.

EJ partners will use the EPA grant funding to support additional opportunities to educate underserved communities about the principles of Community-Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CDMRR) through field practicums. The overall goals are to empower EJ communities to develop disaster resiliency plans and build capacity to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. The federal grant partners that SCDES works closely with on its EJ trainings include the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities, Clemson University: College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences, College of Charleston: Center for Coastal Environmental & Human Health, and the University of South Carolina: Arnold School of Public Health.

Learn more about EJ Strong PREP and other EJ efforts at des.sc.gov/community/environmentaljustice.