Pictured left to right: Charles Beady, CEO of the Mississippi Food Network; Commissioner Andy Gipson; and Ryn Laster, director of food safety and animal welfare at Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. Photo courtesy of MDAC.
A major donation from Cal-Maine Foods will help to feed Mississippi families in need.
Monday, the company, based in the capital city, presented its donation of 20,033 dozen eggs to the Mississippi Food Network as families continue to feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Department of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson was on hand to accept the donation, which will also supply eggs for the Farmers to Families food box distribution to be held on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds on Wednesday.
“We’re thankful today for our farmers who never stopped working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to provide for our citizens around the state, and around the country,” Commissioner Gipson said. “I’m very proud to be apart of the hospitality state, and today, we are witnessing that hospitality first-hand as Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. of Jackson, the largest producer and marketer of shell eggs in the United States, donates over 20,000 dozen eggs to the Mississippi Food Network and the Mississippi families struggling to cope with the consequences of COVID-19.”
Through churches and non-profits, the Mississippi Food Network distributes more than 1.5 million pounds of food and feeds more than 150,000 people every month.
Wednesday, the Farmers to Families food box distribution will begin at 9 a.m. at the fairgrounds. MDAC volunteers will provide 2,592 food boxes containing meat, milk, cheese, yogurt, potatoes and apples to the public. Thanks to today’s egg donation from Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. of Jackson, those receiving a food box will also collect two and a half dozen eggs.
Visit www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box to learn more about the Farmers to Families Food Box Program.
