JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Food Network recently received a $125,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program to assist with its Feed Our Neighbors Program. The grant will be used to provide 320,000 pounds of food to the organization’s 430 member agencies serving children, seniors, individuals and families across Mississippi.
“Mississippi Food Network is extremely pleased to be a partner with Walmart in the fight against hunger,” said Marilyn Blackledge, director of external affairs for Mississippi Food Network. “These funds are critical to our organization and help us address the challenge of relieving poverty-related hunger in our service area.”
The grant was presented to Charles Beady, chief executive officer of Mississippi Food Network, during a check presentation ceremony held today at the Mississippi Food Network. During the ceremony, Beady accepted the $125,000 donation from representatives of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation.
“At the Walmart Foundation, we understand that organizations like Mississippi Food Network are essential to building stronger communities. They share our values and are committed to helping all Mississippians live better,” said Steve Burks, Store Manager at Madison Walmart.
The Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program supports organizations that create opportunities aimed at helping people can live better through awarding grants that have a long-lasting, positive impact on communities across the U.S.
As part of Walmart’s $2 billion commitment to fight hunger through 2017, Walmart stores in Mississippi donated 6,356,420 pounds of food, in fiscal year 2017, or the equivalent of 5,297,017 meals. In fact, Walmart reached more than $141 million in cash and $1 billion in in-kind donations nationwide, delivering on its commitment one year early. Additionally, just in the last fiscal year, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave $13.5 million to Mississippi nonprofits. For more information on Walmart’s fight against hunger, visit foundation.walmart.com/our-focus/hunger.
To be considered for support, perspective grantee organizations must submit applications through the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program’s online grant application. Applicants must have a current 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in order to meet the program’s minimum eligibility criteria. Additional information about the program’s funding guidelines and application process are available online at www.walmartfoundation.org/stategiving.
About Mississippi Food Network
Mississippi Food Network is a food bank headquartered in Jackson. We are a Feeding America affiliated food bank and serve 56 counties in the central part of Mississippi. We accumulate, store and distribute food and household items to more than 430 member agencies in our service area. Member agencies are either churches or 501c3 nonprofit agencies and are Emergency Food Pantries, Day Care Centers, Emergency Shelters, Group Homes, Soup Kitchens, Teen Centers, Alcohol and Drug Rehabs, Afterschool Programs, Homeless Shelters, and Senior Citizen Programs. We serve more than 150,000 people each month through our member agencies and distributed more than 18 million pounds of food in 2016. To learn more about Mississippi Food Network, visit our website at www.msfoodnet.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MSFoodNetwork, or follow us on Twitter @MSFoodNet.
About Philanthropy at Walmart
By using our strengths to help others, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation create opportunities for people to live better every day. We have stores in 28 countries, employing more than 2.2 million associates and doing business with thousands of suppliers who, in turn, employ millions of people. We are helping people live better by accelerating upward job mobility and economic development for the retail workforce; addressing hunger and making healthier, more sustainably-grown food a reality; and building strong communities where we operate and inspiring our associates to give back. Whether it is helping to lead the fight against hunger in the United States with $2 billion in cash and in-kind donations or supporting Women’s Economic Empowerment through a series of grants totaling $10 million to the Women in Factories training program in Bangladesh, China, India, and Central America, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are not only working to tackle key social issues, we are also collaborating with others to inspire solutions for long-lasting systemic change. To learn more about Walmart’s giving, visit www.foundation.walmart.com.