JACKSON — Two metro-area Kroger stores will serve as collection points Friday for the Summer Stock Up food drive, a one-day effort to restock the Mississippi Food Network ahead of the summer months when school meal programs end for many children.
The drive runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, June 5, at the Kroger at the Promenade in Flowood and the Kroger off Highway 51 in Madison. Organizers said donors may drop off food or hand cash through a car window without leaving their vehicles, and shoppers entering either store will be asked to add a few most-needed items to their carts.
The campaign pairs the Mississippi Food Network with the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation’s Foundation for Agriculture and radio partners US96.3, 93.5 The Legend, Y101, Rock 93.1 and Mix 98.7, along with Darkhorse Press, organizers said. Each bulk container staged in the parking lots holds roughly 1,000 pounds of food, which organizers said can provide about 833 meals.
According to the Mississippi Food Network, Mississippi has the highest rate of food insecurity in the nation. In the food bank’s service area, roughly one in five people, or about 345,000 Mississippians, are food insecure, and 26.5 percent of children — about one in four — go to bed hungry. The food bank’s Kids Café and Summer Food Service programs provide hot meals and healthy snacks when school is out.
Most-needed items include canned meats, peanut butter, canned fruit and vegetables, boxed potatoes and pasta, ramen and cake mixes and icing. Donors can give cash at the drive, online at msfoodnet.org or by mail to Mississippi Food Network, P.O. Box 411, Jackson, MS 39205. The food bank said every $10 provides 60 meals, $100 provides 600 meals, and every dollar donated provides six meals; 95 cents of every dollar goes directly to programs.
We will provide more information as it becomes available.
