Video: First ‘Village Post Office’ in North Mississippi Opens in Prairie

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PRAIRIE, Miss. (WCBI) — It’s a first in Mississippi, a village post office will now operate inside a community store. The Prairie Community is the first to land this unique partnership.

Now you can ship a package and pick up a snack in one trip. Shauntay Hinton has the story

It’s the first of its kind in Mississippi. And the residents are ecstatic about it.

“I can’t explain,” one patron said about the opening. “I’m tickled to death about it.”

It’s the grand opening of the village post office inside the Knox Grocery Store. This new hybrid concept was announced by the United States Postal Service in 2011 as a way to increase access to postal services in rural communities across the nation. Store owner Barry Smitherman and the Prairie Postal Service are hoping to kill 2 birds with one stone: convenience shopping for customers and added revenue for the store.

“To provide a service to this community that they didn’t have before, said Smitherman. “And now it’s a convenience that they have with extended hours where they can buy their postage materials here.”

Adrienne Marshall of the US Postal Service said, “The whole idea of the village postal service is to keep the presence of the Postal Service in our communities. It’s a great partnership!. It’s not a competition. I think it’s great for the grocery store. it’s great for us.”

It’s one-stop shopping at its best. Thanks to the United States Postal Service and Knox Groceries, you can now drop off a package to be mailed, and and the same time pick up a loaf of bred, all in one trip!

Prairie resident, Juanita Pierce said, “So, I just do two things at once. Come to the store and the post office all together.”

Mayor Cecil Belle did the honors of buying the first postage stamp. The Prairie Village Post Office offers a range of postal products and services, but is not a full service location. When asked if like the Post Office, will the grocery store be open through rain, sleet, or snow, the owner was optimistic.

“That’s our plan!”

“For WCBI, In Prairie, I’m Shauntay Hinton.”

The Knox Grocery Store is open until 9:00PM Monday through Friday, which will give postal customers an extra 4 hours to see to their postal business.