The MAFES store, Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station located on the western side of campus, is a small building jam-packed with Mississippi State University-made dairies, jams, jellies and meats that make great gifts during the holiday season.
The food is created with the help of MSU students, and then sold with their help, contributing to the hands-on style of MSU.
Troy Weaver, MAFES’ store manager for the past five years, said the store helps prepare students for real-life job experiences after college.
“The department is an advocate for student workers,” Weaver said. ”It helps get them ready for life after college, and also teaches them responsibility and how to manage their time.”
This close atmosphere made some of the student workers go from strangers to best friends very quickly. 
Luke Hanna, a landscape architecture major, said the group of student workers are known as the “cheesy boys,” have worked together for about two years, and he thinks their friendship creates a unique atmosphere for the store.
“We didn’t know each other before we started working together,” Hanna said. “We met at the store and became instant best friends. You can feel that friendship when you come into the store.”
Hunter Clay, one of the “cheesy boys” and a business management major, agreed with Hanna, and said the environment of the store helped the workers bond.
“During the summer, with the long hours we work, and you do the same tasks, you start talking to your coworkers and getting to know them, and the next thing you know, you’re becoming good friends,” Clay said.
Another “cheesy boy,” Jace Leachman, a physical education and coaching major, said the best part about working at the store is the friendships he has made, and seeing how those relationships impact the store.
“One thing I think is kind of cool is that we all got to work together,” Leachman said. ”A lot of times, you simply just work with people, but we are all actually friends too and enjoy what we do.”
The basic duties of the “cheesy boys” and the other student workers include packaging, shipping, labeling and arranging the food in the store. Furthermore, they work behind the counter and assist older customers to their cars.
Older alumnus also have a good time talking to the younger students about what they are doing in school. 
“They like to talk to (the student workers) about what we are learning about in school and what our experiences are, and then they tell us about their experience at MSU,” Hanna said. ”It’s interesting to hear what this college was like back then.”
Clay also said children and adults leave the store with something they will enjoy.
“Kids head straight to the freezers to pick out homemade ice cream, and the older people look at all the different jams and jellies and coffee, like blueberry and sweet potato coffee,” Clay said. 
Karen Brasher, the marketing coordinator for Agriculture and Natural Resources Marketing, said the MAFES store is especially busy during the holiday season because the homemade foods made on campus are great gifts from students to their parents. 
“Cheese, jellies, spices and gift packs are all popular during the holidays, however, cheese is the best seller. We have sold out of the maroon gift pack and vallagret,” Brasher said. “Edam is an MSU tradition and is the best seller of the cheeses. White gift packs provide a variety of cheeses and make for excellent gifts.”
Weaver also agreed the cheeses produced are what makes the store an icon of MSU.
“The store is in great proximity to Davis Wade Stadium and is very popular during football season. Our cheese is as iconic as the cowbell,” Weaver said. “The tradition of MSU cheese is what makes us unique.”
The MAFES cheese store creates friendships based on a shared MSU experience, and produces food that is made and sold by genuine people. This makes for great, MSU-made gifts to give out during the holiday seasons.