Have you ever wondered, while grocery shopping, what happens to all the food the grocery stores can't sell? Most grocery stores donate the food to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and food banks. Through our Retail Store Donation Program, we can work alongside grocery stores to reduce food waste and distribute more food to families in the Mid-South. Alex Watson, Executive Director of Safe, Inc., partners with the Neighborhood Walmart in Tupelo, Mississippi, to serve families in Northern Mississippi. Watson tells us, "Our donations from Walmart for Safe help offset our food costs, keeping our ..read more

Giving, sharing and caring. That’s what Regina is all about.    And since she retired from a 38-year career of teaching 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders, Regina has found a new way to share her gifts and love for others by volunteering at the Mid-South Food Bank’s Fresh Market.   Fresh Market is a unique environment that endeavors to make food pantry guests feel like shoppers. Regina enjoys the outreach so much that she volunteers twice a month. “I love the idea that they can come to the Fresh Market and walk through the line like a supermarket,” she says.   As her neighbors shop ..read more

Melvin is all smiles when he visits the Nutrition on Wheels (NOW) Mini Mobile food distribution. That’s because he knows staff and volunteers will help him find his favorites – fresh fruits and vegetables to make healthy, wholesome salads. Retired from warehouse work, Melvin still picks up odd jobs doing cleaning and assisting with estate sales. The extra money helps stretch his retirement income, but like many seniors, it’s often difficult for him to make ends meet.  The fresh foods, proteins, dairy and other items Melvin receives at the NOW distribution ensure he has food on the table ..read more

  Sherita is a brave and resourceful Mississippi native. As a young woman,  she joined the US Navy and was stationed in Florida before an injury forced her to leave the service. She came home to Mississippi and followed a new career path into hospitality and then mental health.          As a mother of four, she became a prolific cook and knows how to feed a crowd. She’s now a devoted grandmother raising her beautiful granddaughter, Simone.  When we visited with Sherita and Simone recently at the Sacred Heart Desoto food pantry in Southaven, Sherita share ..read more

Thanks to Kroger, each ticket sold to the University of Memphis 901 Game home opener donated three meals to the Mid-South Food Bank, but their generosity didn’t stop there.  Kroger employees and Tiger student-athletes joined together in our warehouse to sort and pack food boxes. The group of 30 volunteers packed over a thousand pounds of food that will be distributed to families who need a helping hand.    David Warren and Jonah Sutton, student-athletes with the University of Memphis, were excited to volunteer. They said it was important for them to give back to the community. D ..read more

          Denise and her granddaughter, Alana, live 30 miles from Oxford where they drove to the Mid-South Food Bank’s Go Green Mobile Distribution at East St. Peter church. Thanks to friends like you, Denise has better access to healthy, whole foods.  Alana is a high-school freshman and has been living with her grandmother for the past two years. She’s in honors English, likes math, and participates in ROTC. At home, she and Denise enjoy playing cards together. Denise shared that in addition to having diabetes, she’s legally deaf and has severe neuropathy in her ..read more

                           Sherry and her family live in a 130-year-old log-cabin after receiving a federal grant to repair the home. It’s that kind of resourcefulness that Sherry lives by, and friends like you are essential to helping her make it all work.        We met Sherry on a recent visit to the Mobile Food Distribution at Binghampton Community Church where she visits to pick up healthy food for her family.   She shares the home with her husband and 84-year-old mother and recently opened the d ..read more

A group of students from University of Memphis chose to lend a helping hand by supporting neighbors experiencing hunger this past summer.  At the University of Memphis, students with an intellectual disability can receive training and hands-on experience by volunteering at Mid-South Food Bank.  A handful of students join their teacher, Patrick Vanderpool, to volunteer every semester to give back to the community while gaining valuable, real-life working skills.   The students help sort fresh goods, clean canned food and package groceries on the Mid-South Food Bank production lin ..read more

    Franklin is enjoying a healthy lifestyle in retirement thanks in part to your support of the Mid-South Food Bank. Because of friends like you, he has regular access to nutritious food for himself and his whole household.       It’s been a relief to be able to visit the Nutrition on Wheels Mini Mobile at Ruth Tate Senior Center to pick up healthy food for his family, Franklin says.       “A lot of people don’t have anything, and this makes a huge difference,” he says.         Franklin and his wife, Shelli, care for grandson J ..read more

For the last 10 years, Mid-South Food Bank, Walmart, and Sam's Club have fought against food insecurity. This year from April 10th - May 8th, if you walked into Walmart or Sam's Club, you could donate to Mid-South Food Bank. This partnership with Walmart has allowed us to feed thousands in the 31 counties we service. This annual campaign has allowed us to go out and connect with not just the associates of Walmart and Sam's but with the customers and our agencies who pick up weekly from the local Walmart stores in their area. During this time, we have been able to feed communities by sourcing t ..read more