Atmos Energy and the Mississippi non-profit Extra Table are teaming up in honor of Martin Luther King Day to fight hunger in the state.
Daily for the next two weeks, thousands of “healthy snack packs” will be delivered to Extra Table’s partner food pantries and soup kitchens. This partnership will ensure the youngest among us, our children, have proper “fuelings” for growth and development.
Through a grant from Atmos Energy, Extra Table purchased healthy snack packs so that when kids are out of school on holidays, long weekends or spring break they still have a nutritious breakfast to start the day. Also, thanks to COVID, some schools are virtual, and Extra Table wanted kids to have something to eat while at home. The snack pack has two grains and one fruit as far as nutritional value. It has a cheerios-type cereal, apple juice and honey graham crackers.
“Food is a kid’s most basic need. If a kid is hungry, he’s not concentrating on school, or studies, or sports, or friendships,” said Robert St. John, the founder of Extra Table. “All he or she is thinking about is when, or where, they will get their next meal, and if that meal will come at all. That is why we do what we do at Extra Table.”
Martha Allen, Executive Director of Extra Table, said, "Food is a basic human right and in the richest country in the world and in the most hospitable state, everyone should have food to eat. Partnering with Atmos to fuel our kiddos just makes sense!”
Atmos Energy Corporation has partnered with Extra Table on several projects related to the company’s “Fueling Safe and Thriving Communities” initiative. The company has donated approximately $55,000 to Extra Table over the past two years.
“The holiday honoring Dr. King is a day of service, of giving back,” said Bobby Morgan, VP of Public Affairs for Atmos Energy in Mississippi. “Working with Extra Table to provide a meal to young people is a great way to give back to our state.”
In partnership with hundreds of organizations, Atmos Energy’s Fueling Safe and Thriving Communities outreach benefits school districts, nonprofits, after school programs, and food banks through everything from backpacks and laptops to nutritious breakfasts to books that help early childhood learners read on level by third grade.
The Mississippi Public Service Commission encourages utilities such as Atmos Energy to partner with non-profits to benefit people across the state.
Vulnerable households will also have access to funds through local energy assistance agencies that provide support with utility bills, weatherization, customer natural gas line repairs, and natural gas appliance repairs and replacements.
For more information about Atmos Energy, visit the website www.atmosenergy.com or follow them on social media.
For more information about the mision of Extra Table, visit the website: extratable.org.
