ANGUILLA, Miss., and HERNANDO, Miss.—James Davis was 11 years old when he cooked his first meal for his family: fried chicken, neckbones, field peas and cornbread.
“My mama came in the house and said, ‘Somebody cookin’ in here. Got it smellin’ good,’” he told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 4.
Fifty years later, Davis finds himself still cooking meals for himself and his wife, Rita Johnson. Both natives of Anguilla, Mississippi, the couple has raised and fed a family of four daughters. While their daughters have moved away from Sharkey County, Davis and Johnson still bond over their love for cooking and eating.
“We gon’ eat nie. And anybody that comes by the house, we gon’ feed them too,” he told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 4.
Although Davis and Johnson love to eat, food has been harder to get since they last received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits at the beginning of October. The couple typically receives between $200 to $300 in assistance as a household, but have been waiting on a final decision about whether they will get SNAP benefits for November. While the couple is unsure of when their benefits will come, Davis and Johnson know they will eat.
Following federal court orders, the Trump administration agreed to partially fund SNAP with 50% payments for the month of November. Another federal judge ordered the administration to fully fund SNAP on Thursday afternoon, but the administration is appealing the ruling.
“We are gonna keep food. We are gonna find something to eat. I promise you that. We ain’t gonna starve,” Davis said.
‘If You’ve Got a Kitchen, You’ve Got a Way to Help’
On Nov. 4, Dr. Pam Chatman, CEO and founder of Boss Lady Economic Planning and Development, partnered with several organizations to host the Boss Lady Shut Down Emergency Food Distribution in the town of Anguilla and parts of Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
“I created this event to try to assist those families that may potentially be affected by the (government) shutdown and cut off of SNAP,” Chatman said in an interview with the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 5.
After giving out 500 bags of food to people in Anguilla and Rolling Fork, Chatman said that the food distribution event was a simple act of service.
“Yesterday was very emotional. The people that came out were very grateful. They kept telling us how appreciative they were. It was just an emotionally good feeling day for people to thank you for what you’re supposed to be doing anyway as a servant,” she said on Nov. 5.
The mayor of Anguilla, Evelyn Maxey, also expressed appreciation to Chatman and the partnering organizations for hosting an event that helped meet the needs of the community. Those organizations include the Community Foundations of Northwest Mississippi, the Bank of Anguilla, and the Bolivar County Council on Aging Transportation Agency.
“We are so thrilled to have Pam Chatman come to our town to give away fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s much needed during a time of government shutdowns and the pause of SNAP. That was a big help,” Maxey told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 4.
James Davis and Rita Johnson were among those who showed up to the food distribution event in Anguilla. Grabbing sweet potatoes to add to their dinner, the couple remained hopeful that they would make it through such trying times.
“I have always been a survivor. I’ve been taking care of my family for a long time. I’m gonna continue to do that,” Davis said.
In Mississippi, about 13% of the population, or about 400,000 people, get SNAP benefits.
Laid-off federal workers and those working without pay—like air traffic controllers—may soon join the lines at food pantries.
While private help and local support aren’t expected to be enough to close the gaps left amid the SNAP delays, organizations and businesses across the state have pitched in to help.
In Columbia, Mississippi, Debbie’s Sandwich Shop is offering free meals to children 17 and under.
“When I heard SNAP benefits were down, my heart broke thinking about the kids who might go without,” Desi Green, who took over the business from her mother Debbie Eaton several years ago, wrote on Oct. 30.
“My mama Debbie taught me a long time ago that kindness doesn’t cost a thing—and if you’ve got a kitchen, you’ve got a way to help,” she wrote in a follow-up post.
DeSoto County Church Sees Surge at Monthly Food Drive
For about two years, members of the West Oak Grove Church of Christ have supported their DeSoto County, Mississippi, community by hosting food distributions outside the church’s parking lot one Saturday monthly for people needing assistance.
The church orders its food allotment from Mid-South Food Bank, whose coverage area includes partnering pantries like churches across 18 Mississippi counties.
Perry Molden Jr. is the church’s point person for the distribution, which is served in a drive-thru fashion with volunteers directing traffic as others pack items into boxes before hauling them into car trunks and truck beds. The volunteers instruct visitors to remain in their cars. The event happens in about a two-hour window.
The persisting congressional stalemate over the government shutdown is increasing the lines at food distribution events like the one at West Oak Grove Church of Christ, which held its latest distribution drive on Saturday, Nov. 1.
“We knew that there was going to be an increase in people coming to the distribution Saturday, so the church prayed about it and prepared for it,” Molden told the Mississippi Free Press. “It’s more work, especially with the paperwork, but we knew it was going to be even more important to hold it,” he said.
Another church volunteer, Richard Jefferson, who helped place food boxes in visitors’ vehicles, estimated that between 300 to 350 households were present at the most recent distribution.
That was about 100 more households than usual, he said. The number of food boxes each household received was based on the number of people in each household.
Molden said around 6,000 pounds of food, including pallets of beans, sliced peaches and grapes, oranges, bananas, muffin mix and soft drinks were divided for each box.
The line of traffic backed up from busy Highway 51 and then into the church’s parking lot, where double fast-moving lines of vehicles snaked around the church building.
“I’ve never seen this many people here,” Hernando, Mississippi, resident Dorothy Whalen told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 1 while waiting in line to get assistance at the church.
She has gone to the distribution events for help before, but not regularly, she said.
“This is because of the shutdown. People either need it now or they are scared that they will lose it,” she said. “They are preparing for it.”
Jaylin R. Smith reported from Anguilla, Mississippi. Andrew Bell reported from Hernando, Mississippi. Ashton Pittman contributed to this report.
