Mississippi Food Network works to combat food insecurity
JACKSON, Miss. —
Mississippi faces one of the highest food insecurity rates in the nation, and the Mississippi Food Network is working to help families in need.
“It is heartbreaking. It is such a thought of, you do not know exactly who it affects,” said Stacey Thompson, development manager at the Mississippi Food Network.
According to studies, from 2022 to 2024, the U.S. average food insecurity rate was 13.3%, while Mississippi’s rate was 17.3%, ranking fifth-highest nationwide.
“Food insecurity is often looked at as someone’s not doing something, but that is not the case. Look at gas prices right now, it is really expensive. When you have to start making decisions of do I get gas, or do I put food on my table, it becomes an issue everywhere,” Thompson said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 60 Mississippi counties have at least one in five adults who said they were not always getting enough food. In Holmes, Jefferson, Sharkey, and Claiborne counties, food insecurity rates are among the highest in the state.
“A lot of these areas have food deserts, and it is more than five miles to a grocery store, and maybe they do not have transportation, or maybe they have a health issue where they can not work. That is where we are stepping in with our partner agencies, and making sure that we can help as much as we can,” Thompson said.
Mississippi’s rate for very low food security was 6.9%, above the national average of 5.2%, ranking third in the country. Thompson said the Mississippi Food Network is working to decrease those numbers and help families as much as possible. The nonprofit serves 56 central counties in the state.
“For us, it is something that we are extremely proud of. It is something that we look at and we know it is an issue, and we know that there is more work to be done, but we can also be proud, and know that we are meeting the need and meeting people in the gap,” Thompson said.
