By: Daily Journal
Too often, we forget about the large number of people living in our community who struggle to get enough food to eat on a daily basis.
Maybe we think about them around Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the spirit of giving is prevalent. Or maybe they come to mind when our church, school or business is doing a canned food drive. But the truth is, their needs are ever present, even when they’re not top of mind for us.
Thankfully, a large number of food banks exist throughout Northeast Mississippi to reduce the hunger burden. But they continually need our help.
In Lee County alone, the number of people who are food insecure is mind boggling, as Jason Martin, executive director of the Tupelo-Lee County Hunger Coalition, relayed in a story in Sunday’s Daily Journal by Ginna Parsons. Martin pointed to a 2014 study called “Map the Meal Gap” that was compiled by Feeding America, the nationwide entity that oversees food banks.
“Lee County was found to have 19.2 percent of the population that was food insecure,” Martin said. “That means 16,270 people in this county are suffering from food insecurity. The amount of money needed to close the gap to zero in 2014 was $8,490,000. That’s a lot of food.”
There are 34 agencies in 12 counties in Northeast Mississippi that depend on the Mid-South Food Bank in Memphis to help provide food for pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and mobile units. The food bank charges a nominal fee, usually 12 cents per pound, for food it delivers to agencies that need it.
In 2018, the Mid-South Food Bank delivered 3.6 million pounds of food to the 12 counties it serves in Northeast Mississippi. That total didn’t even represent half the food needed to erase the number of food insecure, said the food bank’s director of agency partnerships and programs, Lakeisha Edwards.
Leaders at many food pantries told Parsons they tend to get a lot of donations around Christmas, but not as many during the rest of the year. They said monetary donations are most useful both because the food pantries are able to buy food at cheaper prices and because they can stretch dollars longer. Another big need is for volunteers who can help with sorting and distribution.
We are proud to highlight the work of our region’s food pantries that serve such an important need. It’s also important to stop and remember that feeding the hungry is a team effort that requires help from all of us.
