What Greer Relief & Resources Agency Offers — A Guide for Greer Area Residents
Greer Relief & Resources Agency has been one of the Upstate's quiet workhorses since 1936 — not a large regional organization with dozens of offices, but a tight, community-rooted nonprofit that has spent nearly 90 years keeping food on tables and families in their homes across a specific slice of Greenville and Spartanburg counties. This page is a guide to help you understand what Greer Relief currently offers, where they are now, and what to expect when you reach out.
Greer Relief serves residents of Greer, Taylors, Duncan, Lyman, Wellford, and Startex — a defined geographic area that spans parts of both Greenville and Spartanburg counties. If you live in one of these communities and are navigating a financial crisis, need food, or need help connecting to services, the sections below will help you understand what's available and whether it fits your situation.
- NOTE: The Indigo Hope Neighborhood Impact Center at 113C Berry Avenue in Greer, SC 29651 is now the organization's full-service hub. The main phone number is (864) 848-5355. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The Indigo Hope Neighborhood Impact Center — what makes it different
The NIC is worth understanding on its own because it's more than just Greer Relief's office. The 18,000-square-foot facility was designed as a one-stop hub, bringing multiple partner agencies under the same roof so that residents don't have to drive across the county to access different services. In addition to Greer Relief's own programs, the NIC currently houses the Greer Free Medical Clinic, SC Works (employment services), the SC Department of Public Health's WIC program, the Alston Wilkes Society (veterans and justice-involved individuals), the Forrester Center for Behavioral Health, and It Does Take a Village (family services).
Each agency maintains its own hours and eligibility criteria, but having them co-located means that a family that comes in for food help can also connect with medical care, employment support, or behavioral health services in the same visit. That kind of wraparound access is genuinely uncommon at a nonprofit of this size.
Food assistance — the Choice Food Pantry
The Choice Food Pantry is Greer Relief's primary food program and it works differently from a traditional food pantry in ways worth understanding before you go. Rather than receiving a pre-packed box, eligible residents shop for the items that fit their household's needs — a model that reduces waste and gives families more control over what they bring home. The pantry also includes hygiene and personal care products alongside food.
Eligibility is straightforward: you must live in one of the six service communities listed above. Residents can use the pantry once every three months. Pantry hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., and Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. Bring proof of your address in the service area on your first visit. For other options in the area, see the Greenville County food pantry page or, since Greer crosses over county lines, see the Spartanburg County food pantry page.
Also distributed through Greer Relief is FoodShare, a fresh produce program that puts boxes of fruits and vegetables in residents' hands on a bi-weekly basis. For households dealing with food insecurity, this is a supplement worth asking about when you contact the organization.
Financial assistance — rent, mortgage, and utilities
For residents facing an eviction notice, a shutoff warning, or a mortgage payment they can't make, Greer Relief provides direct financial assistance — paying funds to landlords, utilities, or mortgage servicers rather than to clients directly. There may be help for rent, mortgage, and utility bills to qualified people in the surrounding community - for other state and local options see the South Carolina rent assistance program guide.
To understand how this works: assistance is not guaranteed or unlimited, and eligibility is assessed by a case manager who looks at the full picture of the household's situation — what led to the crisis, what other resources have been explored, and what a realistic path forward looks like. Greer Relief's approach has always been to address the immediate need while also thinking about the longer-term stability picture. Before you call, gather documentation of the crisis — the eviction notice, the utility shutoff warning, recent income verification — so the intake conversation can move efficiently. Call (864) 848-5355 to begin.
Thrive Hub — connecting to state and federal programs
One important resource that most people outside the Upstate nonprofit world don't know about is Thrive Hub, a centralized enrollment portal for South Carolina benefits programs. Through Greer Relief, residents can use Thrive Hub to apply for food assistance, health coverage, home energy assistance (LIHEAP), and other state and federal programs in one place rather than navigating each agency separately. If you're not sure which state programs you might qualify for, this is worth asking about when you contact Greer Relief — a case manager can walk you through it - we also have a guide to South Carolina DSS benefit programs.
Greer Free Medical Clinic — on-site (usually every Tuesday but always verify)
The Greer Free Medical Clinic operates inside the Indigo Hope NIC generally every Tuesday from noon to 7:00 p.m. It serves individuals with low or no income who have no insurance. This is not a referral — it's an actual clinic with a dedicated team on-site, providing primary care to residents who would otherwise have no access to medical services. The clinic number is (864) 848-5355, extension 5. For uninsured Greer area residents who have been putting off medical care because of cost, this is a direct, no-cost option available weekly.
RENEW — life skills, education, and the Shoppe
RENEW is Greer Relief's empowerment program, and it represents the organization's expansion beyond emergency assistance into longer-term stability work. The program provides education, enrichment, and life skills classes designed to build real-life, important skills — financial literacy, nutrition, and other areas that help participants move toward self-sufficiency. It's designed for residents who are ready to take a next step beyond crisis response.
Participants in RENEW earn RENEW Rewards — credits valued at Greer's local living wage rate — which can be exchanged for clothing and household items in the RENEW Shoppe, located adjacent to the Choice Food Pantry. This structure makes participation tangible: the skills classes translate into goods that help create a stable home environment. To enroll in RENEW classes, visit greerrelief.org or call (864) 848-5355.
VITA — free tax preparation
During tax season, Greer Relief runs a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site. Certified volunteers prepare and electronically file basic federal and state tax returns at no cost. This is the same program as a commercial tax preparer — the difference is there's no fee. The program runs annually from February through April 15. Appointments are booked through 2-1-1 starting in late January; call 2-1-1 in January to get on the list before spots fill. For residents who have been paying a tax preparer, this is a simple way to keep that money.
The Christmas Morning Shoppe — seasonal assistance for families
Greer Relief's signature holiday program is now the Christmas Morning Shoppe. The Shoppe lets families shop for their own children's gifts in a dignified store-like setting — participants select items rather than receiving a pre-determined package. Watch greerrelief.org or call the main number in the fall for current-year enrollment information, as registration typically opens several weeks before Christmas.
SC Works, Alston Wilkes, and behavioral health partners
The remaining partner agencies at the NIC serve specific populations that Greer Relief's core programs don't directly cover. SC Works provides job search assistance, resume help, and employment services for residents looking to enter or re-enter the workforce — a natural complement to Greer Relief's stability programs. The Alston Wilkes Society focuses on veterans, individuals with justice system involvement, and at-risk youth. The Forrester Center for Behavioral Health and FAVOR address substance use recovery. For residents dealing with any of these circumstances, the NIC's co-location model means support is steps away from the food pantry or financial assistance office rather than across town.
Contact and to apply
While the number of people supported varies year by year, Greer Relief generally serves several thousand people per year. For Greer area residents navigating a crisis — or looking to build stability after one — https://greerrelief.org/ is the right starting point, and (864) 848-5355 is the number to call.
Related Content From Needhelppayingbills.com
|
Need help navigating programs?