DREW, Miss.—Melinda Davis loves greens. Turnips. Mustards. Collards. When preparing the southern side dish for her mother and herself, she breaks the dirty leaves from their bunches and baptizes them in the pool of her kitchen sink. Handful by handful, she turns the greens over in cool water, washing away their iniquities.
Tick. Tick. Tick. The eye of her stove sings its cadence, as flames prepare to march for the hours of soul-food magic. Davis piles the greens high in a pot with boiling water and neckbones. She cooks them down about halfway to make them tender and seasons them with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, a little bit of “suga” and other spices from her mother’s recipe.
“Once I get them washed up, I put a little oil off in there, and they get halfway done. My mom just taught this to me a few years ago,” Davis told the Mississippi Free Press on Oct. 2.
While the greens become tender and tasty, she places a pan of cornbread mixture into the oven, turning from white to golden brown. Davis reaches for a small towel, tattered from the wear and tear of constant cooking, and grabs the pan of cornbread out of the oven, letting it cool beside the greens.
Sweat beads roll down Davis’ forehead as she removes the lid from the pot of greens. Thick clouds of white steam blow kisses all over her face, letting her know that her meal is ready to taste. She takes a fork and lightly stabs inside the sea of tender turnips, lifting the bite to her lips.
She blows. She bites. She smiles.
Davis knows that her toil in the kitchen is well worth the taste of turnip greens. As a diabetic and the sole caregiver of her mother, Melinda Davis always needs access to healthy fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, her hometown of Drew lacks access to that kind of quality food.
Also the hometown of former professional football player Archie Manning, Drew’s median income is just over $22,000, and 38.7% of people are below the poverty line—more than double Mississippi’s average. About 77% of the town’s population is Black. A food desert since 2014, the small Sunflower County town with a population close to 2,000 has not had a grocery store in 11 years and has seen significant population declines since 1970. The nearest store with good, cost-efficient produce is a 20-minute drive to Cleveland in Bolivar County, forcing Davis to make a 40-minute commute just to get healthy food.
“I’m diabetic, so I need leafy green vegetables. I take care of my mother and she’s elderly, so she needs it, too. It’s worrisome having to drive so far just to get stuff like that,” Davis told the Mississippi Free Press.
While Davis can drive and secure healthy vegetables for her mother and herself, many people in Drew are not afforded the same opportunity.
‘We Are Living in Food Deserts’
On Oct. 3, the Southern Poverty Law Center organized a panel discussion and water distribution event at Drew’s National Guard Armory to talk about possible solutions to the food insecurity that community members like Davis face.
David Ray Smith, a Mississippi Delta native and SPLC intern, led the conversation about challenges rural communities face due to the lack of funding and investment in health resources.
“We have rural hospitals that aren’t (fully equipped), and we are living in food deserts. There are so many exacerbating factors taking a toll on our health and lowering our life expectancy,” Smith said.
Mississippi Rep. Tracey Rosebud also spoke on the panel. The Clarksdale native and state representative for District 30 encouraged people to be engaged and practice selflessness as plans for community progress.
“We have got to get out there and vote. … Some communities are getting food. Some are still being neglected. In order for us to totally engage, we must care about our neighbors more than we do ourselves at times,” Rosebud said.
Feeding the Food Desert
Sunflower County Supervisor and community activist Gloria Dickerson discussed programs and organizations that have been vital in meeting the needs of the Drew community, specifically We2gether Creating Change.
We2gether is a part of the Drew Coalition, a body of organizations banded together to bring food security and resources to the town. This coalition has worked to open a food pantry inside the old National Guard Armory. The food pantry helps feed and clothe approximately 550 families monthly. With donations from the Mississippi Food Network and the Walmart in Cleveland, Mississippi, the pantry is an essential part of restoring food justice in the community.
Food-pantry volunteer Betty Smith is proud of the impact the food pantry has on Drew and neighboring communities, even through budget cuts. The Mississippi Food Network has been instrumental in providing food for the pantry, but because of USDA funding cuts, the organization is not able to provide the same volume of food to communities in need.
“(Because) their funds were cut, we don’t get what we used to get from the Mississippi Food Network. Whereas we used to get five and six pallets of food, it’s down to like two pallets now,” Smith said.
Still, Smith is grateful for the donations of the Mississippi Food Network as well as the seven-year partnership with Walmart in Cleveland.
“I thank God we are still able to make it work. I take what the (Mississippi Food Network) gives us and what Walmart gives us and still give families a bag. So far, we have not had to close the pantry,” she said.
Dickerson has been thoroughly involved in advancing change in her community since returning to her hometown in 2012. Once the Mid-South Delta program director for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Drew native is active in creating innovative programs to help people get food and has been pivotal in Drew’s partnership with the foundation.
The Grocery Online Delivery Service, an initiative of the We2gether program, is a free online grocery pickup service that allows people in Drew to place an order of at least $35 at Cleveland’s Walmart. Once the order is ready, the GOODS team picks the food up in a refrigerated van and delivers it to customers.
“Just because we don’t have a grocery store doesn’t mean our people aren’t going to get food,” Dickerson said.
Through a community initiative, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has sponsored a grant of $175,000 over the course of one year to provide 11 families with all of the tools and resources needed to start community gardens in their own yards.
Recipients now have access to an expert who will assist them with planting and garden maintenance. One requirement of the grant is that planters take daily photos of their progress and keep a journal. The foundation also provides a $300 monthly stipend.
Melinda Davis is one of those grant recipients. She started her garden with mustard and turnip greens, her favorites. With a green thumb and a heart for healthy vegetables, Davis hopes to expand her garden to produce more.
“I’m hoping these do well. I really am. Maybe I could try something else, you know, like tomatoes or something. My mom, she likes stuff like that, and I do too,” Davis said.
Editor’s Note: The W.K. Kellogg has provided funding to the Mississippi Free Press and to our Mississippi Youth Media Project. This support had no influence on this story.