MS businesses could cut their state taxes by half through donations
Through the Food Bank Charitable Organization Tax Credit, businesses may get tax credits for donating to certain food banks.
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – For more information or how to apply for tax credits, follow this link.
To donate to a food bank or to request food bank services, visit one of these websites: Midsouth Food Bank, Mississippi Food Network, or Feeding the Gulf Coast.
One out of every six Mississippians doesn’t have enough to eat.
The Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, or LFPA, is a USDA program that provides food for organizations such as food banks.
But Reginald Alexander with Midsouth Food Bank said the food allocated for them was just pulled.
“It was already slated for us to get it,” Alexander said. “And that food was then taken away.”
This supply disruption and rising food insecurity have Mississippi food banks searching for new resources.
One way they’re doing that is by leveraging the state’s newest tax incentives for businesses donating to one of three food banks.
When a business donates to Midsouth Food Bank, Mississippi Food Network, or Feeding the Gulf Coast, they’re eligible to deduct up to half of their state taxes.
This is huge for people who suffer food insecurity, like one woman Alexander met in line at one of their distribution events.
“She’d already been there since like five-something waiting in line with a bunch of other people,” Alexander said. “And she just said to me, ‘I never thought I would see myself here.’ That’s what I try to remember day to day. That there are people who, in many cases through no fault of their own, find themselves in circumstances where they need to utilize a food bank. And there’s no shame in that.”
One new distribution partner of Mississippi Food Network is Loaves and Fishes.
Its’ director Steven Greenough said the amount of people who need help has only risen.
“They don’t have the resources to be able to feed that many people,” Greenough said. “So we needed help.”
That’s one reason they partnered with Mississippi Food Network said Greenough.
“And as an example of that, I don’t know whether it was coincidence, but we picked up 25 banana boxes today,” Greenough said. “That food goes directly back out to the community.”
Greenough said the tax credit for food bank donations could be a game changer when fundraising.
“Well that gives me the opportunity to go and knock on more doors to see if we can get that same benefit,” Greenough said.
Alexander hopes people will approach the hungry with empathy.
“Let kindness and compassion lead your heart with how you approach people who utilize food banks,” Alexander said. “And how you vote for legislation when it comes time to vote for cuts or or changes in policy.”
Greenough said people want to help, they just need an outlet.
“We’ve got tremendous support because it’s in people’s hearts and it just needs to be unlocked. It just needs somewhere to channel it,” Greenough said.
To solve food insecurity in the state of Mississippi would take around $300 million dollars according to Mississippi Food Network.
