A South Carolina town is losing its only grocery store in a matter of days, leaving locals facing a long trip to get fresh food. 

The IGA store in Pamplico, Florence County, has been open for decades – but it is due to close on September 27. 

The nearest grocery store is 15 miles away in a nearby town. For those with a car, that is a 20 minute drive. For those without they must hitch a lift or walk five hours since there is no public transport.

It makes Pamplico the latest of America’s a so-called food deserts –  which occur when a third of people in a rural area are more than 10 miles from a supermarket. Around 19 million now face that reality.

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

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

The spokesperson said that all the 26 employees will be able to get jobs at other IGA stores in the surrounding area. 

The company tried to find another retailer to move into the building and operate it as a grocery store, but were unsuccessful in their efforts, they added. 

Local Tiffanie Wright said she would miss having a full grocery store in the area, and that she feels for those who cannot drive to a different location further away. 

‘This is the only store we have down here with groceries,’ she told WBTW News13. 

‘I know we got a Dollar General down the road, but it [doesn’t] have that much stuff that IGA has,’ she said. 

‘But I just kind of hate it for, you know, the people who don’t even have cars or anything like that. They’ve got to find a ride to the store.’

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

It comes amid concerns of a rising number of food deserts in the US – where affordable and fresh food is not accessible to communities. 

According to the USDA, a food desert occurs when more than 33 percent of the population in urban spaces is further than one mile from a supermarket. 

In a rural setting, 33 percent of people must be more than 10 miles from a supermarket. 

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

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

A so-called ‘retail apocalypse’ is sweeping the US, with different types of stores closing across the country. 

Local Tiffanie Wright said she would miss having a full grocery store in the area, and that she feels for those who cannot drive to a different location further away

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

The closure comes amid concerns of a rising number of food deserts in the US – where affordable and fresh food is not accessible to communities

Many brick-and-mortar-locations are facing increased running costs and tight margins, while others are plagued with rampant theft. 

Even major retailers such as Macy’s are closing stores across the country, and it merged last month that Big Lots is shutting 315 stores across multiple states as its financial woes worsen.  

There were almost 2,600 store closures in the first four months of 2024. If that trend continues, almost 8,000 will have been lost by the end of the year.

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

Dollar stores have been hit hard too, with 99 Cents Only announcing in April it would shutter all 371 of its locations across California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada. 

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

Express – a mall staple – filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would shut 95 Express outlets alongside all of its UpWest stores.    

At the start of May, Rue21 – the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across America –  also said it will shut all  its 543 US stores after going bust.

Badcock Home Furniture & More said at the end of July it is closing all its 380 stores dotted around the South after it fell into bankruptcy earlier this year.

FLORENCE, SC (WMBF) – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety is mourning the loss of one of its own after a state transport officer died on Wednesday.

SCDPS said 43-year-old South Carolina State Transport Police Officer Mark Reynolds experienced a medical emergency during a training exercise earlier in the day.

Reynolds is a Florence native and was an officer who covered Florence, Williamsburg, and Georgetown counties in Region 5. Prior to joining the force in 2022, he served as a firefighter for more than a decade and a transport truck driver before that.

“The death of Officer First Class Reynolds is a profound loss, not only for the State Transport Police, but the entire Department of Public Safety,” SCDPS Director Robert G. Woods, IV said. “We are all hugging our families a little closer tonight and praying for Mark’s wife, children, friends, and loved ones who are left reeling from this sudden loss.”

Reynolds is being remembered as a dependable and respected man by his fellow officers.

“Today is a very sad day for the State Transport Police. For anyone who knew Mark personally, he was well-liked, respected and extremely dependable,” STP Colonel Dwayne Wilson said. “He was committed to his job and lived a life of service to the state, through his years as a firefighter and most recently as one of our officers. He will be greatly missed.”

Information about a memorial service for Reynolds will be released by SCDPS when details become available.

Stay with WMBF News for updates.

Copyright 2024 WMBF. All rights reserved.

The Gamecocks are set to play one of the nation’s best interior defensive lineman in Kentucky’s Deone Walker. A player so good that South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer labeled Walker as a “Game Wrecker” in Tuesday’s press conference.

Walker is a junior and projected first round pick for the Wildcats’ defense. He routinely blows up plays and changes offensive schemes with an ideal blend of size, power, and athleticism. Coach Beamer talked about Walker’s rare blend of traits and how that makes him special.

“There’s a reason people say he’s going to be a top ten pick in the NFL draft. He’s so big. Most big guys are big and just big, this guy is big and twitchy and big and athletic. He’s got the twitch and wiggle to defeat double teams, make himself small if that’s possible and split double teams. He’s good at pass rush there’s no question about it, but where he really scares people and scares us is in the run game. He’s got our respect,” Coach Beamer describes the Wildcats’ defensive leader.

Walker has been known to flip offensive gameplans from his ability to be an anchor in the run game and an elite interior pass rusher. The Gamecocks know Walker will make plays, but the key will be limiting his impact on their offense.

“We’ve got to make sure that we don’t allow him to take over the game,” Coach Beamer said. “That’ll be the key for us. We can’t have too many of those negative plays where he disrupts things, but you also understand that he’s going to make some plays.”

Shane Beamer is no stranger to defensive lineman. In 2021, his squad went up against a Georgia team that featured three defensive tackles that went in first round in Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, and Jalen Carter. Coach Beamer says Walker reminds him of those caliber of players.

“He absolutely does just because of the athleticism and the twitch,” Coach Beamer said. “I think Walker does for sure just because he’s got the sheer size, that speaks for itself, but when you add the twitch and the athleticism it adds a whole new element to what you have to prepare for.”

Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops offered his take on what makes his star tackle so effective. For a player that’s 6-foot-6 and 340+ pounds, Walker’s ability to rush the passer and stop the run is special.

“Deone has that ability to change the outcome of a game. He can be very disruptive, but he is unique in that the great size that he has, he’s very light on his feet. He’s so disruptive for being such a big guy and being so nimble and athletic and twitchy,” Kentucky’s Mark Stoops on how Walker impacts games defensively.

When asked where Walker ranks among defensive line players in Stoops’ tenure, the Kentucky head coach was quick to mention former Wildcats’ star pass rusher Josh Hines-Allen. But did concede that Walker is probably the best interior defender he’s had.

“Interior player, I think it’s fair to say he’s the best one I’ve had to this point. Interior defensive lineman for sure,” Coach Stoops said.

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