Makayla Rose hesitated last week before she posted on Facebook, asking if anyone knew where she could find food for her family.
Rose, her husband and their two special needs children are among thousands of people in the Golden Triangle who have yet to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits this month due to the ongoing government shutdown.

“I don’t like asking for help,” Rose told The Dispatch. “I just wasn’t raised that way. I’m a very independent person, so making the post was already nervewracking.”

But within minutes, people began commenting on Rose’s post, telling her where to find local food pantries and other resources. One man, she said, messaged and asked how much the family receives in SNAP benefits each month. He sent her the entire amount.

“I sat and cried for two hours, nonstop,” Rose said. “… I’m new to the area. I’ve lived here for maybe a year and a half, so when the community pulled together, I was extremely overwhelmed in a good way.”

SNAP, also known as food stamps, is the country’s largest anti-hunger program, providing monthly food benefits to more than 300,000 low-income residents in Mississippi and more than 40 million nationwide.

Payments were halted nationwide on Nov. 1 as the federal government’s budget impasse stretched into its fifth week. The pause left thousands in the region without funds to pay for groceries, leaving local organizations to fill in the gap.

A federal judge last week ordered the Trump Administration to distribute the benefits as soon as possible. The White House agreed to partially fund the program using $4.65 billion in contingency funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but officials said it wouldn’t be enough to cover all November payments.

The Trump Administration appealed the order on Friday, arguing it would take more than what’s available to fully restore benefits. The full payments cost between $8.5 billion and $9 billion each month, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

When she learned her family may not receive the $350 in SNAP benefits that covers about 90% of her family’s food budget each month, Rose said it was “gut-wrenching.”

“It was so scary,” she said. “I told my husband, ‘What are we going to do?’ I called my dad, and he said, ‘We can pray, and I believe that we’re going to be okay.’”

That frustration, Rose said, is exacerbated by what she sees as “misinformation” about who receives the assistance. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, more than 26% of SNAP recipients are in working families, including Rose.

“We need to be able to stock up on our food and have resources,” Rose said. “We have to eat. I don’t think a majority of people realize that are making all of these posts and comments about (SNAP benefits being mispent), you’re getting food, and that’s all it is.”

Community steps in to fill the gap

This week alone, Brandi Herrington, executive director of Starkville Strong, said 700 meals have been served through the nonprofit’s Seconds Servings program, which collects surplus food from local restaurants and community events to repurpose for meals.

Starkville Strong is a nonprofit that provides support to residents facing food insecurity, homelessness and housing insecurity with a focus on community advocacy.

“(This week) has looked like pure love, generosity,” Herrington said. “It’s just a reminder that when we see our neighbors struggling and we know that there is a gap to fill, this community in particular has a heart like I’ve not seen in any towns that I’ve ever lived in.”

Still, Herrington said, the demand is growing each day.

“They’re happy with what they can get for today, and that (it) will satiate them through tomorrow,” Herrington said of her conversations with clients. “But the question is always, what about the next day? And then after that day, what about the next day?”

That’s a need Loaves and Fishes of Lowndes County has been working to meet in Columbus. The soup kitchen began serving evening meals Monday alongside the usual lunch service, where about 350 meals are served on average.

Steve Greenough, with Loaves and Fishes, said the amount of meals made by volunteers for the dinner service has increased slowly throughout the week, growing from 110 meals on Monday up to 230 on Thursday.

Donations and volunteers have ensured the need is met.

“It’s been a wonderful response by the community, and it’s not stopping,” Greenough said, noting another donation of food received Friday. “… It won’t be the things that we want. It will be the things that people give us, but that’s fine.”

Next week, Greenough said the soup kitchen will pivot away from the evening meals to provide boxes to SNAP recipients with enough food to last five to six days. Residents can pick up the boxes Wednesday and Friday from 4-5 p.m. They must provide proof they receive SNAP and a valid ID.

Donations for the food boxes can be dropped off at the soup kitchen Wednesday and Friday from 3-4 p.m., and monetary donations can be made through loavesandfishesoflowndescounty.com with “SNAP” in the memo line.

Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District wrapped up a carpool food drive on Friday, ending the week with enough donated food to pause the operation for the time being.

“As soon as we ran out of one category of food, another load of something came in,” Communications Director Haley Montgomery told The Dispatch. “We feel very blessed by that and really blessed by the community as a whole and by our families serving each other with their donations.”

Montgomery said about 1,200 students in the school district are in families affected by the loss of SNAP benefits. The goal for the drive was to collect enough to fill 280 bags of food to be distributed to families. By the end of the week, the district was able to collect enough for at least 325.

Along with students’ families donating food each day, Montgomery said several churches, organizations and businesses contacted the school district to donate everything from baby formula to a “truckload of food.”

“It’s that kind of thing where we’ve had a lot of families and businesses and churches and organizations who said, ‘How can we help?’” Montgomery said. “That’s very encouraging to us and encouraging to our families. It just means a lot to have that support from the community for sure.”

How to help

Thousands could lose access to funds they need to buy food next month if Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds are not disbursed. Several food pantries and organizations in Starkville and Columbus are stepping in to provide help where it’s needed.

Columbus

Loaves and Fishes of Lowndes County
Food boxes will be distributed on Wednesday and Friday from 2-4 p.m. to residents who can provide an ID and proof they receive SNAP benefits. Food donations can be dropped off the same days from 3-4 p.m., and monetary donations to support operations can be made at loavesandfishesoflowndescounty.com.

Helping Hands
Helping Hands provides food to Lowndes County residents on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Northside M.B. Church
Northside M.B. Church will host a grab-and-go food giveaway at noon every second and fourth Thursday at 1501 Ninth Ave. N. Donations for the giveaway can be dropped off at the church on Wednesdays or Sundays. Volunteers are needed.

Harveys Food Drive
Harveys is collecting donations of canned vegetables, soup, beans and rice, noodles and non-perishables from Nov. 3-17 to donate to Loaves and Fishes of Lowndes County and The Salvation Army of Columbus. Donations can be dropped off at 200 Main St. Harveys will match guest donations.

There are 30 food boxes throughout Lowndes County. A full list is available on the Community Benefit Committee group on Facebook.

Starkville

Starkville Strong
The nonprofit is collecting monetary and food donations to help those in need. Items should be delivered to 109 Lafayette St. S. Monetary donations can be made starkvillestrong.org/donate.

St. Joseph’s Food Pantry
St. Joseph’s is open every second Saturday from 9-11 a.m. Those in need of food must call (662) 323-2257 ahead of time to register and provide proof of Starkville residency.

Starkville Strong’s Free Little Pantries have seven locations across the city and a full list of locations can be found on the Starkville Strong Facebook page.

Other local resources for food in Starkville are listed at tipps.extension.msstate.edu/news/2021/03/local-resources-food

McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.