STARKVILLE – Before partnering with Starkville Strong about two years ago, Bridgeway Church was operating a food pantry that fed about 30 families every two to three weeks.
Eventually, because of the influx of additional families seeking assistance, the church could not effectively run its food pantry, said Joe Horan, co-pastor with Bridgeway Church. That led the church to redirect efforts through a partnership with Starkville Strong.
Together the two have been far more successful in addressing food insecurity, which was part of the inspiration for Tuesday night’s Stand in the Gap community meeting, Horan said.
More than 60 members of local churches, organizations and nonprofits gathered at the meeting held by Bridgeway Church, Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District and Starkville Strong to discuss forming a coalition to better address food insecurity in the county.
“Starkville is one of those communities (where) we’re never lacking for people who want to make a difference and who are working to make a difference. We just don’t always do it together,” Horan told The Dispatch before the meeting. “… And so hopefully we see even some partnerships arise just in the next few months. And then we’re going to propose just some other things … to make it deeper and better.”
The goal in hosting the event, Horan said, was to introduce different members from 27 groups who may have never met before in an effort to form better lines of communication for addressing issues in the community, like food insecurity and homelessness.
Organizers were also motivated by the significant uptick in food assistance requests they’ve received after Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were paused due to the government shutdown, said Brandi Herrington, Starkville Strong’s executive director.
SNAP is the country’s largest anti-hunger program providing monthly food benefits to roughly 384,800 low-income Mississippi residents, including thousands in the Golden Triangle.
“Instead of us all standing on our own island, if we could lock arms and really work together, we could increase efficiency and decrease overlap,” Herrington said at the meeting. “… If we can be proactive in building relationships and get to know each other’s programs, we can really begin to fill in the gaps and stand in the gap during these harder times. Because I don’t think this is the last time the government will shut down. … So we need to be ready for the next time or for the next crisis.”
Herrington during the meeting discussed some ways the group could go about practically addressing these concerns through efforts like building a community calendar of events by organizations in the county or consolidating communication between all of the organizations to directly address issues as they arise.
“There’s no system for real-time updates. I would love to know you’re doing a food drive next week and see how I can help supplement that or partner with you to get the word out,” Herrington said. “Visibility is important. There’s a huge informational gap. There’s tons of resources in Starkville. I have a whole compiled list of them, but the information gap is wide, and we all can help narrow that gap.”
Strength in numbers
Haley Montgomery, communications director for SOCSD, spoke about ongoing efforts in the school district to feed students outside of the free or reduced school lunch program, for which about 3,300 students qualify. The district also has food pantries at five of its schools and a partnership with Backpack Buddies to send 240 students home with a bag of groceries each week.
“As a school district, our job is teaching and learning,” Montgomery said. “That’s what our focus is. But we all know that when children come into our classrooms, a child who’s hungry does not learn as well as their peers.”
While the district is limited in the information it can provide other organizations about specific families’ needs, Montgomery said others can help by directing families in need towards the district resources.
Horan said members at the meeting could also seek out and build relationships with counselors so they know who to contact if there’s a family in need of additional help beyond what the school district can provide.
“We’ll get a list of those counselors put together so that you’ve got them,” Horan said. “And then if you want to reach out and just make that contact and say, ‘Hey, if you ever have a need, this is how you get a hold of us, and let us know that.’”
While the Mississippi Department of Health Services announced Monday that up to 65% of SNAP benefits have been funded through November, Herrington said food insecurity is an issue year-round for families even when full benefits are issued.
“I don’t think it’s changed the goal,” Horan said, referring to partial benefits being issued. “… I think the immediate need helped us shine the light on just ‘Hey, we could be doing a whole lot more together’ … We’re better when we work together, and if we can pool those resources and energy, we can do a lot more.”
Organizers hope Tuesday’s gathering is a springboard for hosting quarterly meetings to continue expanding the group’s network with other organizations addressing issues like food insecurity and homelessness in the county, Herrington said.
“I think that if we can build our systems up to be working and efficient, then when this sort of thing happens again – and I’m afraid it will – that we’ll be better prepared,” Herrington told The Dispatch.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
