The City of Picayune recently joined 50 other cities across Mississippi in the March of the Mayors food drive, a statewide initiative organized by the nonprofit Extra Table to combat food insecurity. This year, Picayune’s designated item was 1-pound bags of rice, and the community rallied together to meet the challenge.

The effort has come full circle after weeks of collecting, transporting, and distributing donations. Family-sized food boxes have returned to Christian Care Ministries, where they will be distributed to local families in need. The generosity and teamwork of individuals, businesses, and organizations throughout Picayune made this accomplishment possible.

Community-Wide Effort

Donations poured in from every corner of the city as residents, businesses, and organizations stepped up. Among the most significant contributions came from Jay and Katrina Strahan, whose generosity was key in ensuring local families receive essential food supplies.

Other major contributors included:

• The Civic Woman’s Club, which made a substantial donation and demonstrated an unwavering commitment to fighting hunger.
• Teachers at Picayune Memorial High School, including Ms. Waterman, Ms. Collier, and Ms. Seals, who collected student rice donations, offer service-hour credit for participation.
• Walmart donated $300 toward the effort.
• Rouses Markets hosted collection boxes in its store and offered a special sale of three 1-pound bags of rice for just 99 cents.
• Ted Barze and Barze’ Place Antique & Collectibles Mall served as collection points and held a giveaway to encourage donations.

Behind-the-Scenes Heroes

Transporting donations from Picayune to Extra Table headquarters in Gulfport—and returning with the assembled food boxes—was another critical part of the process. Special thanks go to Assistant Police Chief James Bolton, Code Enforcement Officer Jim Browder, and Parks Director Trevor Adam, who handled the transportation.

Once the food boxes arrived back in Picayune, Mayor Jim Luke, the Picayune Fire Department, and other city employees assisted in unloading and distributing them to Christian Care Ministries, where they will soon reach families in need.

Mayor Luke thanked the community for its generosity and hard work.

“It’s incredible to see how our city comes together when there’s a need. Every bag of rice donated represents a meal for a family in our community, and I want to thank everyone who played a part in this effort personally. This was truly a team effort, from businesses to civic groups, teachers, students, and individual donors. Picayune has a giving heart, and this food drive proved that once again.”

March of the Mayors: Fighting Hunger Statewide

The March of the Mayors is an annual food drive organized by Extra Table, a nonprofit dedicated to feeding hungry Mississippians. Each participating city is assigned a specific food item to collect, which is then combined with other donations at a large-scale packing event on the Gulf Coast. Volunteers gather for “Mississippi’s Largest Food Box Packing Party,” an event filled with community spirit, with Mardi Gras beads, Moon Pie, and a Second-Line parade.

Once assembled, the food boxes are distributed to participating cities and local food pantries, ensuring that families across Mississippi receive much-needed supplies.