Second Servings gets assistance from organizations for holidays
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The holiday season brings many opportunities for people to give.
The Second Servings program is collaborating with several Starkville organizations to provide food through the holidays.
Starkville Strong has been helping many families through its Second Servings program for over a year now.
However, at this time of year, feeding the community becomes more challenging because there are fewer people available to do the work and provide donations.
“It gets a little tighter for us with the food because the sorority houses are some of our biggest donors, but this has gone into our second year, and we are starting to figure out some safety nets that we can put in place to make sure that there is food,” Shannon Voges-Haupt said.
Distributing around 300 meals a week takes a lot of resources and assistance.
The program is getting help from organizations such as Mississippi State Concessions, MSU athletics, and Casserole Kitchen.
Director of the Second Servings program, Shannon Voges-Haupt, said connecting with others can have a far-reaching impact on the community.
“There are plenty of opportunities for food to be donated because, unfortunately, I hate to say it, but we are a little bit wasteful as a society, and so when people hear about that, there is a place where they can take food and not go in dumpsters; they are very excited and want to participate,” Voges-Haupt said.
Anne McWhorter and Willie D. Williams have been volunteers for Casserole Kitchen for several years now
They said helping is becoming a standard in the area.
“Because a lot of these guests, some of them don’t have a place where they can live, and this is their means of having food to eat, so that is why it is so important,” McWhorter said.
“Starkville Strong is a blessing, like she said, some people don’t exactly have a place to stay and have family staying with them, and then there are families for themselves,” Williams said. “Right now, it’s been hard for everybody, and I just thank God for the vision that has happened over 16 years from now.”
If you would like to help, donate, or volunteer for the Second Servings program, you can visit the Starkville Strong’s website.
