MSU Extension program boosts food pantry support

YAZOO CITY, Miss. -- The Mississippi State University Extension Service is helping strengthen food access in the Mississippi Delta through its Healthy Hub Initiative, providing training and operational support to food pantries. 

The Healthy Hub Initiative, launched by AIM for CHangE in 2025, was designed to help food pantries strengthen operations through training in grant writing, evaluation planning, food policy and client-choice nutrition systems. AIM for CHangE, short for Advancing, Inspiring and Motivating for Community Health through Extension, established in 2018 with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

The Tulane Missionary Baptist Church Food Pantry participated in the Healthy Hub Initiative. A team of volunteers and church members serve approximately 270 households each week and an additional 240 seniors each month. Food purchases are supplemented by support from local churches and the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors. 

“With the prices of groceries going up, communities need food pantries more than ever,” said Alexis Hamilton, MSU Extension agent in Sharkey County. “It’s great to see our long-time partners embrace the educational opportunities provided through the Healthy Hub Initiative.” 

The Healthy Hub Initiative works alongside local food pantries to strengthen their operations and expand their impact within the communities they serve. By providing guidance, resources and hands-on support, the initiative helps pantries grow, improve efficiency and better meet the needs of families facing food insecurity. 

Pastor Thaddeus Williams, who recently retired from the Tulane Missionary Baptist Church, attended the Healthy Hub Initiative trainings and worked to build the pantry’s capacity through the related mini-grant program.

“Since the grant, or possibly because of the grant, we have gone from serving 190 families on average per week to nearly 240 families on average per week,” Williams said. “Having more fresh fruits and vegetables contributes to lessening the advent and acceleration of health issues and disparities that exist in our community, which has a 40% poverty rate.” 

The pantry uses a client-choice model that allows participants to select foods that best meet their needs while promoting healthier options. Pantry clients also receive nutrition education, such as strategies to reduce sodium in canned vegetables. 

McArthur Straughter, a deacon and volunteer with the Tulane Missionary Baptist Church Food Pantry, said support from AIM for CHangE helped expand the pantry’s capacity. 

“When we first started, we did not have refrigeration,” Straughter said. “Now we have coolers and freezers, which allow us to distribute frozen items and meat. The pantry has grown tremendously and has become one of the most important resources in Yazoo City.” 

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