March of the Mayors: City leaders step up to help feed communities
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Northern Mississippi cities are stepping up to help residents who are having trouble making ends meet.
And their mayors are leading the way.
Extra Table, a Mississippi-based non-profit whose goal is to end hunger by providing food pantries and soup kitchens with the food they need to help others, is teaming up with mayors from seven North Mississippi cities to benefit feeding programs in those cities.
Each city is challenging its residents to donate certain non-perishable foods.
Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said this is a great way to reduce some of the food insecurity
“We are trying to do a food drive that was organized, and we are participating, and we have these flyers that are up over town. We have some locations for distribution to collect some peanut butter and is it an effort to try and create some food pantry boxes that are going to consist of multiple items? Each city will contribute a different item, I think we got the long straw because we just have to do peanut butter, and that is an easy thing to do,” said Spruill.
Spruill said it’s all about helping those who need a little extra assistance.
“It is to help the community, we know people are struggling, and that the winter times are hard. We have food boxes all over town, but this one is a little more collective, and it will be multiple types of offerings, in any particular box,” said Spruill.
Columbus is also participating in the food drive. Gaskin said he is glad to see other cities in North Mississippi helping out as well.
“We will be competing against Baldwyn, Caledonia, Oxford, Starkville, Tupelo, and West Point. Columbus has canned soup, Caledonia has rice, Oxford has green beans, Starkville has peanut butter, Tupelo has tuna, and West Point dried beans,” said Gaskin.
The participating towns will be accepting donations at city and town halls, and fire stations.
You can check with your local city government to find out where to drop off food.
For more information, visit Extra Table | Neighbors Feeding Neighbors
