Water pipes burst threatens food supply for needy, officials say

By Janice Limon

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    REENVILLE, South Carolina (WYFF) — A major cold weather emergency and cleanup is underway in Greenville Monday at the largest food bank in the state.

Below-freezing temperatures caused water pipes at Harvest Hope Food Bank to burst, causing water damage throughout the building and threatening the food supply, officials said.

Harvest Hope, located at 2818 White Horse Road, is South Carolina’s largest food bank, providing over 50,000 meals a week for those suffering from hunger, according to its website.

Power is out in half the building, including the freezers and refrigerators, compromising hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of food.

Officials said the first employees got to the building around 7:15 a.m. and opened the door to a “tidal wave” of about seven inches of water, officials said.

Employees found several broken pipes spraying water into the area below.

At that time, there were about 30 cars in line waiting for food, officials said. They had to turn those people away, and about 50 more cars in addition, officials said.

Officials said the pipes burst sometime between Friday night and Monday morning, most likely over the weekend.

Officials at the bank took WYFF News 4 photographer Lauren Fleming on a soggy walking tour of the damage through 2 to 3 inches of standing water.

The water was still pouring out of the pipes at 9:30 a.m., and officials said they were having a problem getting the water turned off.

Water has flooded most of the building, including offices and meeting rooms in the distribution portion of the building, making its way to the area where food is stored.

If the water gets to the freezers, the food bank stands to lose more than a million dollars in food, officials said.

Employees are loading what food they can into trucks and transporting it to their food bank in Columbia, officials said.

Crews with Greenville Water were reportedly on their way but had not arrived yet.

Officials said they are in need of non-perishable food items, as they estimate they have already lost about 20% of the food supply.

To donate, visit: harvesthope.org

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