Show up at a food pantry in Charleston or at Parchman, and you just might have to go to jail — to get an application.
Applications are no longer available at the site of the monthly food pantry distribution. They are kept at the county jails in Charleston, Sumner and Indianola. They will also be kept in other locations soon, as arrangements are made.
The jails are the best site, because the dispatchers are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No matter your work schedule, you can go by the jail and get an application. Take it home, fill it out completely, and it is your ticket for food pantry service.
Every family must have a completed application. If you come without it, you will not be served until you get one and bring it.
September food pantry will be on Saturday, Sept. 20. Once your application is completed after July 1, 2025, you can receive food assistance through June 2026.
It is hoped that having applications available all month at various locations will make it easier for applicants. It will also make the food pantries safer, because long lines of clients waiting on the highways already require law enforcement assistance to direct traffic. Even with that, there have been auto accidents at pantries.
Some food distributed is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but only a part. Those who do not qualify to receive USDA aid are likely to qualify for assistance from the church.
The goal of the Calvary Chapel of Parchman’s Robert Neal Food Pantry Network is to have no one going to bed hungry in Tallahatchie, Sunflower or adjacent counties.
The food network, affiliated with Mississippi Food Network and Feeding America, is supported by the two churches that house warehouses, Calvary Chapel and Faith Baptist Church, and other area churches.
Before the pandemic, about 15 churches supported the church financially. After the pandemic, many churches declined in attendance and finances, and today only First Baptist Church of Charleston, New Town Baptist Church of Charleston, and Friendship East Baptist Church continue to assist in the ministry.
The ministry has not wavered, with help from organizations such as Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, Extra Table (Hattiesburg) and local food drives. A few local donors also send financial assistance.
Though the churches do not solicit funds face-to-face, donations are welcome and may be sent to Faith Food Pantry or Food Pantry, Calvary Chapel, at Regions Bank, P.O. Box 8, Charleston, MS 38921.
