The community of Starkville is fighting a food insecurity crisis.
A number of residents are relying heavily on outside resources to receive food for themselves and their families. These resources include, but are not limited to: Starkville Strong, Casserole Kitchen and food pantries located across Starkville.
Brandi Herrington, the executive director of Starkville Strong, established what groups of people are susceptible to becoming food insecure. She noted that those who are food insecure are not necessarily just those who experience poverty. Food insecurity can affect anyone, regardless of employment or age.
“You expand those in need to be your servers, your police officers, your firefighters and your teachers,” Herrington said.
Angella Baker, a volunteer leader at Starkville’s Casserole Kitchen, also attested to the diversity in those who experience food insecurity. She said Casserole Kitchen serves children and adults alike.
According to Herrington, the combination of increasing housing prices and static wages has resulted in a rise of the number of people in need of assistance for receiving food.
“Food is just the surface problem. Underneath, they are not able to make enough income to survive here. They are not able to find affordable housing that is habitable and available,” Herrington said.
Elizabeth Williams, the program manager of Project P.E.A.C.E. at the Discovery Center, emphasized the lack of nutritious food that food insecure residents receive.
“It’s not just about food but about food that is nutritionally sound for a family,” Williams said.
Agreeing with Williams, Herrington said nutrition is a key factor at play. While the amount of food that families receive is lacking, the nutritious value of that food is suffering even more.
Both Williams and Herrington said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) denies those who are enrolled the opportunity to buy an adequate amount of food.
“When we have sat down and talked with some of our families that receive SNAP benefits, sometimes we are surprised by how little money that ends up being,” Williams said.
Even further, older adults suffer especially from a lack of support from SNAP. Williams said that because of the lack of family that the elderly have, their SNAP benefits can get as low as $25 per month.
SNAP benefits not only provide individuals with extremely limited means for receiving food but also restrict those enrolled to getting cold meals only.
While food insecurity can be attributed to lacking government programs and unlivable wages, food pantry volunteers can also attest to the increased need for food by underprivileged members of the community.
According to Herrington, Starkville Strong has created seven food pantries that are located across Starkville. Volunteers stock these pantries up to three times a day, and the food is taken within minutes.
“We fill them up to three times a day, but it is not enough. We cannot keep up,” Herrington said.
Williams said food pantries are a popular resource for food insecure residents to utilize, and she emphasized how quickly food comes and goes out of these pantries. Herrington said food pantries are an advantage because people can receive help without directly asking for it.
Baker pointed to the increase in food insecurity in Starkville. This past Saturday, more than 75 people went to the Casserole Kitchen in search of a warm meal.
“We literally ran out the food that was there, and we depleted the refrigerator of anything that could be used,” Baker said.
Starkville Strong has encountered a growing rate of people requiring assistance for receiving food. Herrington said there has been a noticeable increase for those asking solely for food, as opposed to help with rent or utility bills.

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Landon Scheel | The Reflector

Food insecurity affects community members