HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) – 300 families have food on the table tonight, all thanks to Mississippi Power Foundation’s Pop-Up Grocery Market.
From fresh fruits and veggies to frozen meats, the foundation partnered with The Goodr to host a pop-up market at N.R. Burger Middle School for families in need.
“Our team understands that the summer adds burdens on budgets, and we’re very proud to invite families out today to where they get two weeks’ worth of groceries at no additional cost,” Mississippi Power Division Manager Cedrick Hurd said.
Hurd says the Mississippi Power Foundation worked to identify families in financial need and allowed them to register.
The amount of food qualifying families received was based on the number of family members.
“Mississippi Power, of course, we’re all about safe, reliable, and affordable energy that we provide to our communities, but we think it’s very important to also be a steward of our communities,” Hurd said. “We want to be a leader in fighting food insecurity, so this is just another great effort for us today.”
N.R. Burger Middle School Principal Tekeica Chapman says she was grateful for the opportunity to help with this initiative.
When the event was official, Chapman says her main priority was getting the word out and making sure parents had a chance to see if they qualified.
“We had several parents reach out, and we sent the message out, so it was a lot of participation, and it went great, flawlessly,” she said. “I think it was a great way to get ready and prepare for the first day of school.”
Some parents also registered their kids for school during the event, and Chapman says some did not leave empty-handed.
“We had several parents to come in, and they were like, ‘Oh, I was supposed to bring this back out,” or ‘Oh, I have a QR code,” so all of the volunteers made it work really well. No problems at all,“ Chapman said.
The Mississippi Power Foundation will have another pop-up market Friday in Meridian.
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Dining and Cooking