Only grocery store in South Carolina town closes – leaving locals facing five hour trek for fresh food

A South Carolina town is losing its only grocery store in a matter of days, forcing residents to travel far to get fresh groceries.

The IGA store in Pamplico, Florence County, has been open for decades, but will close on September 27.

The nearest supermarket is 15 miles away in a nearby town. For those with a car, that’s a 20-minute drive. For those without a car, they have to hitchhike or walk for five hours because there is no public transportation.

It makes Pamplico the latest of America’s so-called food deserts — which form when a third of people in a rural area live more than 10 miles from a grocery store. Some 19 million people now face that reality.

The store’s lease was set to expire soon, so the company decided not to renew it, said a representative for Alex Lee, IGA’s parent company. WBTW News13.

The location is older and smaller than others, they added, and there are other IGA stores nearby.

The spokesperson said all 26 employees could find jobs at other IGA branches in the area.

The company tried to find another store that wanted to move into the building and open a supermarket there, but was unsuccessful, they report.

Tiffanie Wright, a local resident, said she will miss having a grocery store nearby and feels for those who cannot drive to a more distant location.

“This is the only grocery store here,” she told WBTW News13.

I know we have a Dollar General nearby, but it’s [doesn’t] “I have as much stuff as IGA,” she said.

“But I just kind of hate it for, you know, the people who don’t even have a car or anything. They have to find a ride to the store.”

The closest grocery store for Pamplico residents is now 15 miles away at KJ’s Market in Florence.

The issue comes amid concerns about the growing number of “food deserts” in the US, where affordable, fresh food is inaccessible to locals.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a food desert occurs when more than 33 percent of the population in urban areas lives more than one mile from a supermarket.

In rural areas, 33 percent of people have to live more than 10 miles from a supermarket.

By this standard, more than 18 million people lived in food deserts in 2019, AP News reported.

With stores closed, people have little or no access to fresh, healthy produce, forcing them to buy packaged and highly processed foods.

There is talk of a so-called ‘retail apocalypse’ in the US, with various types of stores closing.

Many physical stores are struggling with rising operating costs and tight margins, while others are struggling with widespread theft.

Even major retailers like Macy’s are closing stores across the country. Last month, Big Lots announced it was closing 315 stores in multiple states as its financial woes mount.

In the first four months of 2024, there were almost 2,600 store closuresIf this trend continues, nearly 8,000 people will have died by the end of the year.

In recent months, Walmart has closed three more of its underperforming locations, while Best Buy closed ten in march.

Dollar stores have also been hit hard: 99 Cents Only announced in April that it would close all 371 of its locations in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.

The 1,000 closures of Family Dollar and its sister company Dollar Tree will take place over the next three years.

Express, a well-known mall-based retailer, filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would close 95 Express locations, in addition to all of its UpWest stores.

In early May, Rue21, the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across America, also announced that it would close all of its 543 U.S. stores after filing for bankruptcy.

Badcock Home Furniture & More announced in late July that it will close all 380 of its stores across the southern U.S. after the company filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.