Mississippi State, Ole Miss and University of Memphis may be rivals in sports, but during the 2012 – 2013 season they are partnering to raise one million meals for people who don’t have enough food to feed their families.  Together with Kroger, the three universities are asking their fans to help raise these meals during the football and basketball season.  The meals will help provide food to feed hungry people in Mississippi and Western Tennessee.  This is the first year these schools have asked their students, alumni and fans to join together for a common cause – the fight against hunger.  With more than 23% of Mississippians facing food insecurity, a time when they can’t provide food for their families, it is important for others to lend a helping hand and join the Challenge. 
 
Mississippi Food Network and the MidSouth Food Bank will also be joining in the Million Meals Challenge.  These two food banks will benefit from the food and funds raised during the challenge.  They will be distributing food to needy people through their network of member agencies who serve people in their respective communities.   It’s an exciting time to see so many people joining together with one goal in mind – 1 million meals.
“Mississippi Food Network is excited to be participating in The Million Meals Challenge,” stated Walker Satterwhite, Executive Director of Mississippi Food Network.  “With the increased need for our services to help provide assistance to people facing food insecurity, we appreciate Kroger, and those associated with Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and the University of Memphis taking the challenge to help in our fight against hunger.”
 
There are several ways to donate and it’s easy.  Food drives will be held on each campus during football and basketball season and collected at the last home football and basketball games – food items such as canned fruit, canned vegetables, canned meat and soups will be collected.  And, don’t forget to look for collection barrels at Kroger stores.
Or, to make it real easy, you can donate money:
•             Visit the website at www.themillionmealschallenge.com, select your school and donate.
•             Text Hunger to 66856 which will take you to the website.
•             Send checks to the Million Meals Challenge, c/o Mississippi Food Network, P. O. Box 411, Jackson, MS 39205. 
 
Volunteer your time at Mississippi Food Network, MidSouth Food Bank or any of the schools.  Volunteer hours for the Challenge can count for school and work activities.  To find out more contact:  kburditt@msfoodnet.org or prushing@midsouthfoodbank.org.
 
Get ready – get set – go -  start donating to help your school win the challenge!
 
Mississippi Food Network is the only food bank located in the state and is headquartered in Jackson.  We accumulate, store and distribute food and household items to more than 415 member agencies in our service area.  Member agencies are either churches or 501c3 nonprofit agencies and are Emergency Food Pantries, Day Care Centers, Emergency Shelters, Group Homes, Soup Kitchens, Teen Centers, Alcohol and Drug Rehabs, Afterschool Programs, Homeless Shelters and Senior Citizen Programs.  We serve more than 175,000 people each month through our member agencies and distribute more than 1.5 million pounds of food each month.  To learn more about Mississippi Food Network, visit our website at www.msfoodnet.org. www.facebook.com/MSFoodNetwork   @MSFoodNet
 
Mid-South Food Bank fights hunger by collecting and distributing food to a network of more than 300 charitable feeding programs in west Tennessee, north Mississippi and east Arkansas.  In 2011, Mid-South Food Bank distributed 10.3 million pounds of wholesome food and other grocery items to food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth programs, senior programs, rehabilitation and residential centers, daycares and schools.  www.midsouthfoodbank.org  www.facebook.com/midsouthfoodbank  @MSouthFoodBank
Kroger's Delta Division, based in Memphis, TN, currently operates 115 stores and 70 fuel centers in five states under the Kroger banner in Memphis and West Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Southern Missouri, and Southwest Kentucky.  Last year, Kroger's Delta Division contributed more than $3.5 million to the local communities it serves. Kroger focuses its charitable efforts on hunger relief, education and women’s health issues. 
 
Kroger, one of the world’s largest retailers, employs more than 339,000 associates who serve customers in 2,425 supermarkets and multi-department stores in 31 states under two dozen local banner names including Kroger, City Market, Dillons, Jay C, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, QFC, Ralphs and Smith's. The company also operates 789 convenience stores, 337 fine jewelry stores, 1,109 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food processing plants in the U.S. Recognized by Forbes as the most generous company in America, Kroger supports hunger relief, breast cancer awareness, the military and their families, and more than 30,000 schools and grassroots organizations in the communities it serves. Kroger contributes food and funds equal to 160 million meals a year through more than 80 Feeding America food bank partners. For more information please visit Kroger.com.