2019
10-week pilot​
Feeding the Future Mississippi began as a small pilot study during spring 2019. 33 children, identified as the most food insecure by the school district, were successfully fed for ten (10) consecutive weeks. Inspired by the success of the pilot, we sought to expand the program into a full school year initiative for those same students.
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2019 - 2020
1st Full Year of Operation
Having exceeded our fundraising expectations, we were able to consistently feed 42 Durant Elementary School students (and their older siblings) every weekend throughout the 2019-2020 school year.
(~$6,200 budget)
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Thanks to partnership with Kroger Corporate’s Delta Division, in November 2019, we were also able to provide each FFMS family with a whole turkey and sides to ensure that every family was able to provide their children with a full Thanksgiving Meal!
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Additionally, through this same partnership, we also distributed over $1,000 worth of food and grocery essentials to program families in late spring 2020 to support families affected by the Covid-19 lockdown and recession.
2020 - 2021
2nd Full Year of Operation
Maintaining a 20% annual growth in program size and operating costs, we committed to serving 52 students every weekend throughout the 2020-2021 school year.(~$7,500 budget)
2021 - 2022
3rd Full Year of Operation
We served 63 students every weekend throughout the 2021-2022 school year.
($9,100 budget)
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Thanks to a generous $3,000 grant from Molina Healthcare, in the summer of 2021, we were able to deliver over $1,500 worth of grocery essentials to program families as well as an additional $1,500 worth of school supplies for all of the children served by our program.
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On this same service day, we were also proud to coordinate the sponsorship of a mobile Covid-19 vaccine and testing unit for the Durant community. Thanks to the generosity of Aramark Uniform Services (Durant, MS branch), we also provided Durant Elementary School students with several high-quality, reusable children’s masks in order to help ensure the safety and well-being of community students.
2022 - 2023
4th Full Year of Operation
We served 75 students every weekend throughout the 2022-2023 school year.
($9,100 budget)
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We served 75 students throughout the 2022-2023 school year.($11,000 budget)
2023 - 2024
5th Full Year of Operation
In order to continue our trend of 20% annual growth, our goal is to serve 90 students throughout the 2023-2024 school year. This commitment will bring our base operating costs to ~$16,500.
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As we plan for next year, we are currently in talks with school district officials to explore the possibility of expanding to a second elementary school within the Holmes County Consolidated School District - Goodman Pickens. We will keep our supporters updated about new and upcoming plans as we continue to explore ways to expand our impact!
Impact
Over the Years
We are proud to have maintained a stable 20% annual growth since 2019. This steady expansion ensures the stability and longevity of our program, as we continue to enroll additional children into our program.
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Since our team serves entirely on a volunteer basis, 100% of our donations go directly toward providing meals and other necessities for our program families. Since our inception, we have raised over $40,000, all of which has gone directly back to the most food-insecure families of Holmes County. The vast majority of our donations go directly to packaging and transportation costs for our weekly meal distributions while corporate sponsorships and/or specifically-earmarked grants have enabled us to facilitate our more periodic service initiatives. ​
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Over the lifetime of our program, we have been able to serve over 8,600 weekend packages. While all of our program children receive free school lunch everyday, many of our program families struggle to make ends meet, making weekend meals much less certain. These weekend packages, therefore, serve as a vital bridge, ensuring children are fed everyday throughout the entire school year.