By Charity Bruce Sweet, MCJ Director, Economic Justice
This Thursday is World Hunger Day, a moment set aside each year to shine a light on one of the most urgent and solvable crises of our time. But for hundreds of thousands of Mississippi families, hunger isn’t a single day on the calendar. It’s a daily reality.
For starters, Mississippi has a food access problem.
When most people hear “food desert,” they picture a neighborhood with no stores at all. Across Mississippi, the reality is more nuanced and, in many ways, more frustrating. While most families do live in food desserts, we often don’t acknowledge this reality because they might have access to stores like Dollar General which sell produce, but the amount and quantity of fresh produce they offer is limited.
Even traditional grocers face challenges. Supply chain pressures mean stores often can’t get what they order — or can’t get it in the quantities their communities need. And as the price of oil rises, so does the cost of transporting and stocking food, pushing prices higher for families who can least afford it.
But it’s not only access issues that families face. It’s affordability as well.
Families across Mississippi are being forced to stretch their dollar even further with rising housing, grocery, gas prices and little to no income growth. Even for families receiving SNAP benefits — the federal food assistance program — this program only covers the cost of food itself. They don’t account for the transportation, time, and barriers families must navigate just to access a grocery store.
And this very program that serves as a lifeline for thousands of families and keeps them from going hungry has become a target for the federal administration.
Last November, when federal cuts to SNAP benefits threatened to leave families without food assistance, we joined advocates in Mississippi to respond.
We put together Harvest Fest — a mass mobilization effort to get as much food as possible to families who would go without. It wasn’t just about distributing food, but working with families to show them the importance of healthy eating. We created delicious, healthy recipes they could easily replicate at home.
But the event was about more than meals. We pushed the state governor to declare a state of emergency and direct state funds toward food assistance — applying community pressure and policy pressure at the same time.
This year, similar events are planned throughout the year. Our first event, “Take a Seed, Plant a Seed,” is this Thursday, May 28th , in observance of World Hunger Day.
Community members can join us at the Indianola Community Wellness Center, from 12–4 PM, to pick up a free bucket plant starter kit and plant one to take home and one to donate to the local community garden. A registered dietician will lead a cooking demonstration featuring the vegetables and herbs offered, and a representative from the Indianola Community Garden will be on hand to share ways to get involved. The event will also include important information on upcoming SNAP changes and community resources, brought together by partners including Mississippi State University Extension Service, State Representative Otis Anthony, and local health and justice campaigns.
To learn more about out economic justice work, click here.