Tag: Mid-South Food Bank

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Memphis Zombie Walk Returns

Zachary Pepper
The undead can be generous.

Most of us can agree that giving is better than receiving, but at least one group defies the norm, stereotypically speaking. And it’s zombies of course, seeing that they’re always out there looking to steal your brains. But in Memphis, a collective of the undead is looking to give back to the community with a walk to raise donations for the Mid-South Food Bank.

The Memphis Zombie Walk started 14 years ago, says Zachary Pepper, producer and host of the walk. “The people that started it art were makeup artists who do special effects makeup and wanted a chance to express themselves and do something great for Memphis.” Though Pepper, a self-proclaimed “horror nut,” didn’t participate in that first walk, he became involved the following year and now leads the zombie horde.

“We walk from Handy Park on Beale Street all the way to GE Patterson and we come right back,” he says. “It’s about a quarter-mile.” The best part, Pepper adds, is the element of surprise. “People are like, ‘Why aren’t you doing it in October?’ ’Cause everyone expects it in October. You have no idea how fun it is for zombies to randomly pop up Downtown.” So, beware this weekend: The zombies tend to meander at whatever pace they choose, spooking any non-zombified, confused passersby — but not indulging in any brains, Pepper assures.

Shockingly, not all of these zombies are real zombies; in fact, most, if not all, are in costume with elaborate special effects makeup. They show up as undead flappers, superheroes, tennis players, and everything in between. And for those who lack the zombie touch, starting at 4 p.m., makeup artists will be on-site to turn you into your worst nightmare, at no cost. “All that we ask is that you donate to the food bank,” Pepper says.

In addition to bringing either a monetary or canned food donation, Pepper urges walkers to bring water to stay hydrated. The walk, which begins at 7 p.m., is family- and pet-friendly. Visit the group’s Facebook page @MemphisZombies for more information. 

Memphis Zombie Walk, Handy Park, June 3rd, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.

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Southland Casino Racing Hosts Mobile Food Pantry

Southland Casino Racing hosted Mid-South Food Bank’s mobile food pantry distribution on March 1st. (Courtesy Southland Casino Racing)

Southland Casino Racing this week hosted a mobile food pantry distribution for Crittenden County residents. Each family received 40 pounds or more of food during the distribution.

In November 2021, on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, a day devoted to a world-wide celebration of philanthropy and activism called “Giving Tuesday,” Southland Casino Racing, in collaboration with its parent company, Delaware North, announced continuing investments in the Mid-South community with donations totaling $600,000 to two organizations that serve the Crittenden County community: the Mid-South Food Bank and the East Arkansas Family Health Center.

“We’re very proud that Southland’s first distribution of $161,000 in funding to the Mid-South Food Bank has allowed the organization to add to its mobile pantry operations to improve the efficiency of food distribution in Crittenden County and reach food desert areas,” said David Wolf, Southland president and general manager. “It’s great to host the mobile pantry right here at Southland and address the critical needs of this community.”

The funds will establish and supply two Healthy School Pantries, in order to provide children and their families with access to food for preparation at home when other resources, such as  school meals, are not available.  

“The Mid-South Food Bank is thankful for this partnership with Southland Casino Racing,” said Cathy Pope, Mid-South Food Bank president and CEO. “This collaboration will help us increase food distribution for rural areas in Crittenden County and help establish more partner agencies in the area. Additionally, this opportunity will help educate and connect families to other vital programs that support food and economic security.”

A mobile pantry distribution is a method of direct client distribution in partnership with an organization that acts as a host site.(Courtesy Southland Casino Racing)
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Southland Casino Racing Donates to Two Mid-South Organizations

Left to right: Marco McClendon, West Memphis Mayor; Susan Ward-Jones, East Arkansas Family Health Center CEO; Lou Jacobs, Delaware North Owner and CEO; David Wolf, Southland Casino Racing (Courtesy Southland Casino Racing)

In celebration of Giving Tuesday — the Tuesday after the Thanksgiving holiday, which is touted as a day devoted to generosity and philanthropy — Southland Casino Racing, in collaboration with its parent company, Delaware North, donated $600,000 to two Mid-South organizations.

Mid-South Food Bank will receive $325,000 toward its mobile food pantry, and the East Arkansas Family Health Center will receive $275,000 to fund the development of an OB-GYN program, the gaming center said.

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales saw some declines this year, as the Associated Press reports, 2021’s Giving Tuesday saw a record $2.7 billion in donations.

Presenting the donations at Southland on Tuesday were Lou Jacobs, Delaware North CEO; David Wolf, Southland  Casino Racing president and general manager; and Johnekia Catron, Southland’s community engagement manager. 

“Being a good neighbor is a key part of our mission at Delaware North and Southland Casino Racing,” Jacobs said. “We are grateful for partners like Mid-South Food Bank and East Arkansas  Family Health Center for their work to address the critical needs of this community, and we hope these  investments make a meaningful impact to advance that work.”

The organizations were identified through a community-needs assessment that revealed two significant areas of hardship: food insecurity and access to women’s healthcare. Crittenden County has a  significant food insecurity rate, which is on the rise because of the ongoing pandemic. For women, the nearest OB-GYN without crossing into another state is 39 miles from the area.

Left to right: Marco McClendon, West Memphis Mayor; Cathy Pope, Mid-South Food Bank President and CEO; Lou Jacobs, Delaware North Owner and CEO; David Wolf, Southland Casino Racing President and General Manager (Courtesy Southland Casino Racing)

“The Mid-South Food Bank is thankful for this partnership with Southland Casino Racing,” said Cathy Pope, Mid South Food Bank president and CEO. “This opportunity will help educate and connect families to other vital programs that support food  and economic security.” 

“The East Arkansas Family Health Center is elated to collaborate with Southland Casino Racing in providing OB-GYN services to the community at large,” said Dr. Susan Ward-Jones, CEO of the East Arkansas Family Health Center. “This funding will allow for a robust program that will improve health outcomes and reduce morbidity and mortality.”

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Idahoan Donates More Than 250K Servings to Mid-South Food Bank

CREDIT: Courtesy Hunter Public Relations

Courtesy Hunter Public Relations

Idahoan employees preparing for the Mid-South Food Bank donation at an Idahoan warehouse

Last month, Memphians were surprised to find bags of instant mashed potatoes in their mailboxes. According to a press release from the company, more than 1.2 million servings of Idahoan Mashed Potatoes arrived at Memphis households through the month of February. “By choosing Idahoan more often than any other city in America, Memphians have helped Idahoan claim the honor of being America’s favorite mashed potatoes,” the release stated.

Last week, the company offered up even more potatoes, this time as a direct donation to the Mid-South Food Bank. “The Food Bank received the first shipment of 668 cases of Idahoan Baby Reds Mashed Potatoes on Friday, March 5th,” said community relations manager Haley Scruggs. “These cases provide 171,008 servings and will be available for our partner agencies to distribute through their food pantries.”

Scruggs said Idahoan will be sending three additional shipments of different mashed potato varieties. “In all, Idahoan is providing 2,553 cases, which equals to about 258,600 servings,” Scruggs said. “Mid-South Food Bank is thankful for Idahoan’s generous donation supporting our community. These potatoes will help provide a complete nutritious meal for thousands of local children, seniors, and families in need.”

The Mid-South Food Bank helps those who are food-insecure across 31 counties in West Tennessee, North Mississippi, and East Arkansas. It partners with organizations such as food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth programs, senior programs, and more to further its mission to eliminate hunger in the Mid-South.

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News The Fly-By

Week That Was: Data, Abortion, and Domestic Violence

Clockwise from top left: abortion, domestic violence, art fund, Gov. Bill Lee, transmission rates, Mid-South Food Bank, shop local


New Data

Tennessee’s coronavirus transmission rate fell over the past week, according to new data from researchers at Vanderbilt University, though the virus situation here remains “delicate and uncertain.”

Virus models from the Nashville university pushed the state’s peak of the virus from mid-April, according to one national model, to mid-May or mid-June, depending on new restrictions on social distancing.

Protecting Abortion

The Center for Reproductive Rights, along with two other organizations, is challenging an order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee that essentially bans abortion procedures in the state.

Earlier this month, in an executive order responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lee moved to limit “non-emergency healthcare procedures” until at least the end of the month. The order does not specifically cite abortion services, but instead reads in part, “All healthcare professionals and healthcare facilities in the state of Tennessee shall postpone surgical and invasive procedures that are elective and non-urgent.”

The Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the ACLU of Tennessee filed an emergency lawsuit last week to challenge the order.

The lawsuit argues that the governor’s order effectively bans abortion in the sate, violating Roe v. Wade, as well as women’s rights to liberty and autonomy under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Domestic Violence

As the pandemic continues and stay-at-home orders remain in place, one advocate said it is “common sense” that domestic violence will heighten.

Deborah Clubb, executive director of the Memphis Area Women’s Council, said most in her field are “very worried” for those in abusive or violent domestic relationships.

The biggest concern during this time, “as people are locked in together day after day, week after week,” Clubb said, is a rise in domestic violence homicides. However, there are resources to help those in dangerous situations at home.

Clubb said how one seeks help and relief from domestic violence depends largely on each individual’s circumstance. See a list of agencies and their phone numbers below.

Schools Closed

Governor Bill Lee said last week that he wants all Tennessee schools to remain closed throughout the remainder of the school year.

In a tweet after the announcement, Lee said he’s working with the Tennessee Department of Education to “ensure there is flexibility for districts to complete critical year-end activities.”

The tweet garnered dozens of responses within the first hour after it was published. Many of them from students, were like this:

Week That Was: Data, Abortion, and Domestic Violence

Food Bank Needs

Reports and photos are emerging from across the country showing cars, lined by the hundreds, with people waiting to receive food packages from food banks.

Cathy Pope, president of the Mid-South Food Bank, said as the agency has nearly doubled the amount of food it distributes, it is beginning to see long lines form at a few of its mobile food pantries.

Pope said the key to avoiding the long lines and turning individuals away is having enough dedicated distribution sites located throughout the city. That means securing partners who are willing to set up mobile food pantries.

The best way to ensure the agency has enough food to meet the need, Pope said, is to donate. Find more information on how to do that here.

Model Revised

Tennessee’s coronavirus peak and fatality numbers got another downgrade last week from the widely used epidemic model from the University of Washington.

The numbers from the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) have been used by the White House and state and local governments across the country. It has long predicted a virus peak here in mid-to-late April.

But the model has been recently diminished as too optimistic after a Tennessee-specific model was developed by health-care officials from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. That new model holds that the state’s peak won’t come until mid-May or mid-June under different scenarios. Numbers from the Vanderbilt model are not publicly updated.

Art Funds

ArtsMemphis and Music Export Memphis are distributing $77,190 to 159 artists in Shelby County. The funds come from the Artist Emergency Fund, which became public April 1st and supports artists of all types across music, visual art, film and media arts, literary art, theater, and dance.

Shopping Local

With the newly added stresses caused by COVID-19, some of us need a little shopping therapy. Luckily, while we can no longer step inside most shops, local retailers still have us in mind with online and phone ordering for shipping, same-day delivery, and curbside pickup. We’ve amassed an online and curbside shopping guide, featuring products and offerings from our advertisers. View the guide here


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To Meet Demand, Food Bank Needs Donations, Partners, and ‘a lot of Food’

CREDIT: Facebook/Mid-South Food Bank

Facebook/Mid-South Food Bank

Volunteers load food into a car at a mobile food pantry

Reports and photos are emerging from across the country showing cars, lined by the hundreds, with people waiting to receive food packages from food banks.

Cathy Pope, president of the Mid-South Food Bank, said as the agency has nearly doubled the amount of food it distributes, it is beginning to see long lines form at a few of its mobile food pantries.

Since the beginning of March, the food bank has distributed 3 million meals, which equates to about 3.6 million pounds of food. In a typical month, the agency distributes 1.3 pounds of food.

Pope said at a mobile pantry site last week that was set up to serve 400 people, nearly 800 additional people showed up in need of food, but were turned away.

“We always let people know if they miss one mobile pantry, there will be another one,” Pope said. “We also still have our brick and mortar pantries.”

The issue was not a lack of food, but a lack of food at that particular site, Pope added. Currently, the food bank has enough food to distribute to those in need, but not enough distribution points.

Pope said the key to avoiding the long lines and turning individuals away is having enough dedicated distribution sites located throughout the city. That means securing partners who are willing to set up mobile food pantries.

“We need other partners like the Kroc Center that can run a consistent mobile pantry,” Pope said. “Like every Friday, folks can bet on it, we’re going to be here at X location. So it’s a consistent, scheduled distribution system that we need. This way people can consistently access food. It’s going to take a lot of partners, a lot of mobile pantries, and a lot of food.”

Any organization interested in sponsoring a mobile pantry can fill out a form on the food bank’s website.

With the 200 food banks across the country, along with emergency agencies and grocery stores, Pope said last week the food bank experienced some issues with orders.

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“We haven’t had a lot of trouble getting food in the door once we have ordered,” Pope said. “But last week there were some glitches in the pipeline. Some orders were canceled or they weren’t complete. We’d only get 25 percent of the order or something like that. But, I believe the pipeline has cleared up and worked itself out now. We just need to continue to raise the money to pay for that food.”

In order to maintain the level of food it is currently providing, Pope said the food bank has to have continued community support. Food donations are down as the coronavirus pandemic has halted food drives and other means of collecting donated food. But Pope said financial donations have been up.

“It’s just going to take a large amount of food,” Pope said of meeting the ongoing need. “We’re having to purchase about half of what we distribute. Depending on how long this goes on, we need funding to keep orders in the cue. But as long as we get food in the door, we absolutely can distribute it.”

If funding does become low, Pope said the Mid-South Food Bank, along with other food banks in the state, is proactively working with the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, which will coordinate food orders for local food banks.

“We’re hopeful about that,” she said. “That’s a very good, solid back-up, for sure.”

Pope said she doesn’t foresee the food bank running out of food to supply, but “are we going to be able to meet the need if it’s three times what it is or four? I don’t know.”

Which brings Pope back to highlighting the importance of community support.

“We’ve gotten community support, but it just needs to be consistent,” she said. “This is not an ‘oh, we’ll be done in a week’ situation. We know feeding these families who are out of work is a long-term thing. It’s going to take some time for us to get rolling again.”

The best way to ensure the agency has enough food to meet the need, Pope said, is to donate. Find more information on how to do that here.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Horseshoe Tunica Delivers ‘Truckloads’ to Mid-South Food Bank

CREDIT: Horseshoe Tunica

Horseshoe Tunica

So, what do you do when coronavirus has closed your restaurant doors and you have a ton of food left? Well, Horseshoe Tunica gave it to the Mid-South Food Bank.

On Friday morning, the casino delivered literally “truckloads” of food to the food bank, Memphis Union Mission, and Sacred Heart Mission.

“We are happy to work with such great partners and wanted to donate these food items to the community as soon as possible,” said R. Scott Barber, regional president of Caesars Mid-South.
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The donation came from Horseshoe’s restaurants, which are temporarily closed at the direction of the Mississippi Gaming Commission in response to coronavirus.

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Fighting Food Insecurity Amid School Closures

CREDIT: Mid-South Food Bank/Facebook

Mid-South Food Bank/Facebook

Shelby County Schools announced Thursday that they would be taking precautions against coronavirus by closing all schools through March 30th, and many private schools and after-school programs have followed suit.

In the wake of the announcement, several collections and food drives have been started to ensure Memphis children do not go hungry during school closures, as many students rely upon the meals they get from school.

One way to get involved and fight food insecurity in Memphis during school closures is through the Mid-South Food Bank.

“As many Mid-South families prepare for schools to close due to the coronavirus and confirmed COVID-19 cases, Mid-South Food Bank is assembling 14-day food boxes full of nonperishable food for low-income and vulnerable populations,” states a post on the Mid-South Food Bank Facebook page. “We’re asking for your help to continue serving our hungry neighbors.”

Monetary donations to Mid-South Food Bank can be made online.

Other groups, like Shelby County Schools and Freedom Preparatory Academy, will prepare sack lunches during the week of March 23rd, while organizations like the Dorothy Day House are currently accepting food items as well as monetary donations via their website.

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Zombie March 2019!

The dead walked the earth for the 13th time this past weekend. The annual Memphis Zombie March was held May 31st Downtown.

This is a benefit for the Mid-South Food Bank.

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Fly On The Wall Blog Opinion

Zombies!

The 2018 Memphis Zombie Walk happened last Friday, when the undead hit Beale Street.

This annual walk benefits the Mid-South Food Bank.

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