Food pantry increases service with MSU Extension support

LELAND, MS -- A community food pantry was able to provide fresh and frozen meat for the first time after participating in a pilot program organized by the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

AIM for CHangE launched the Healthy Hub Initiative in 2025 to help food pantries gain experience in grant writing, project implementation and evaluation. AIM for CHangE is short for Advancing, Inspiring, Motivating for Community Health through Extension.

Keltra Chandler, project manager for AIM for CHangE, said The Church of The Living God, Pillar and Ground of The Truth, or TCOTLG, Fruits of Love Food Pantry had an ambitious goal: to significantly increase the healthy proteins available to their clients. 

“Fruits of Love has participated in many of our educational programs and is passionate about providing healthy options for the pantry’s clients,” Chandler said. “The mini-grant funds provided through the Healthy Hub Initiative allowed them to purchase chicken, fish, ground beef and pork throughout the summer and increase the number of families they can serve.”

Chandler said the first round of the Healthy Hub Initiative helped food pantry operators clarify their vision for the future of their operations while also providing the means to set their plans in motion. Each pantry was able to focus on a need in their community and tailor their project to their clients, with an eye to future growth.

“We want to help these important community services become more sustainable,” Chandler said. “By supporting them through the grant-writing process, they can learn how to position themselves for more grant-writing success.”

Jasmine Styles is the executive director of TCOTLG Community Outreach and Services, which was launched in 2019. Their Fruits of Love Food Pantry serves 265 families in Washington, Sunflower, and Bolivar counties.

Increased grocery prices have caused many of their clients to cut back on buying meat, which reduces their protein consumption, Styles said.

“Distributing fresh and frozen meat marked a major turning point in our ability to provide more nutritious, balanced meal options,” Styles said. “The Healthy Hub Initiative allowed us to go from simply distributing food to distributing healthy, consistent and reliable food. This was life-changing for many families.”

Fruits of Love operates with only three paid staff members and relies heavily on 60- to 75 volunteers. Styles said their programs are diverse and holistic: food distribution, a community garden, hot meals for the homeless, a backpack feeding program for children, cooking classes, childcare services and an adult daycare program.

“Each initiative meets a unique need, and together they form a safety net for the most vulnerable in our community,” she said. “We run on genuine care and love from the community, but it’s the grant funding that keeps us alive.”

The Healthy Hub Initiative is a collaborative effort between MSU, the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, and the Community First Research Center for Wellbeing and Creative Achievement, or CREW, at the University of Mississippi. 

AIM for CHangE was launched in 2018 and is made possible by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information on AIM for CHangE and how it is helping to reduce obesity and improve the health of Mississippi communities, visit the Extension website.