'There’s a lot of people in need': Lowcountry retiree finds purpose feeding strangers

After finishing a career that spanned nearly four decades, CJ Strife has found a new way to spend his time. He volunteers at Bluffton Self Help every Friday, helping Lowcountry families put food on their tables. "They need a lot of drivers to pick up food and things like that, since I have a pickup truck I help out as much as I can," Strife said. Strife says he's like many of the volunteers at Bluffton Self Help, who have now found time to help the community after retiring to Beaufort County. “There’s also people like myself that didn’t have that opportunity while they were working. Now that they have that opportunity they want to give back," Strife said. Bluffton Self Help's food pantry runs every Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., where clients can come fill their grocery bags with the week's essentials without paying the cost. Strife, who's volunteered his time for nearly four years, does it all from unloading food donations to helping clients pick their food. Executive Director Kimberly Hall says that while food insecurity is on the decline, it's still a prevalent issue in South Carolina's Lowcountry. In an interview with WJCL 22 News last Friday, Hall cited that high real-estate costs in Beaufort County lead to a significant portion of the community living at-or-below the livable wage. “You have a lot of tourists come in, they go to Hilton Head for vacation where there’s a lot of money in that area," Strife said. "You have a lot of people coming in changing their lifestyle but hey don’t realize there’s so many people -- driving in the inner part of the city, or the outside--that there’s a lot of people in need.”For more information on how to volunteer, you can visit blufftonselfhelp.org(Below: Bluffton Self Help Thanksgiving)