Lee County churches feed inmates and jail personnel for Thanksgiving

LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- A Thanksgiving tradition continues in Lee County as churches from across Northeast Mississippi come together to feed those in jail and others who need a meal. As Reginald Buchanan was bringing green beans and corn to the makeshift assembly line of plates, he was also serenading the volunteers.

Buchanan has been part of the Thanksgiving Day outreach for more than ten years and says he looks forward to it every year.

“You are blessed to be a blessing to someone else, someone who’s less fortunate, who doesn’t have, who may not have loved ones, families to go to their houses to eat,” said Buchanan. “We want to extend that blessing to others.”

This Thanksgiving Day feeding was organized by Christians on the Move to Evangelize, a ministry started by a group of pastors more than thirty years ago, to do mission work in the community. These lunches went to the inmates and staff at the Lee County Jail. Meals were also taken to the homeless and shut-ins.

Pastor Clarence Parks says the plate lunches are a simple way to show people that someone cares.

“Many times just the gesture, even if you can’t speak to them physically, by you doing something for them, like giving them a meal, it speaks to them spiritually, to the point where they understand, somebody is concerned about me,” said Pastor Parks.

Cee Cee Jackson, another longtime volunteer, says the Thanksgiving Day feeding is one way to put her faith into action.

“I just love helping and trying to give back any way I can do it, I love doing it,” said Jackson.

More than three hundred meals were served at the Lee County Jail, and to those without a meal in the area.

Volunteers will come together again on Christmas Day to make and deliver meals throughout the area.