Helpers & Heroes

HELPERS and HEROES

A COMPILATION OF LOCAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITY HELPERS THAT MAKE AN IMPACT IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI.

Saints’ Brew

On early weekday mornings near downtown Tupelo, folks seen walking near All Saints’ Episcopal Church are likely headed to Saints’ Brew. Simply put, it’s all about the breakfast. In actuality, it’s about much more.

Saints’ Brew is a free breakfast program for the food insecure, elderly on fixed incomes, the working poor and the homeless. All Saints donates the use of their facilities for Saints’ Brew, but the program is 100% community funded. Meals depend on donations from residents, churches and other faith-based organizations.

“Saints’ Brew’s impact on our community isn’t limited to just a hot meal service,” said Hannah Maharrey, Saints’ Brew coordinator. “It is a tangible and necessary access point to our vulnerable neighbors in Tupelo. Through our breakfast program, we are connecting our guests to resources they need to find stability and increase their long-term quality of life while also serving them a meal and fellowship.”

When Saints’ Brew began in 2007, it was initially to be a ministry for a limited period of time through the Lenten season. Its first week, four people showed up for breakfast. But word spread and the ministry grew. In 2020, Saints’ Brew served a total of 17,386 meals.

Even in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saints’ Brew volunteers continued their service to those who were hungry by offering a to-go service in March 2020, which helped keep Saints’ Brew active through last year.

Saints’ Brew is a United Way Agency, a member of the Tupelo-Lee County Hunger Coalition, Tupelo Homeless Task Force, and Emergency Food and Shelter grant program.

Grove Grocery is a student-run organization working to relieve food insecurity on the University of Mississippi campus. Since 2013, this organization has offered groceries, toiletries and cleaning products to students, faculty and staff. It operates out of Room 213 in Kinard Hall, and there are several drop-off points around campus.

The food pantry has made many adjustments in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the winter storm in February. To decrease the number of people in the pantry at one time, Grove Grocery started an order form to allow patrons to preorder items online and then pick up outside the pantry at their convenience. Volunteers also made extra efforts via social media to encourage people to pick up food in preparation for the freezing temperatures in February.

Mary Beth Gillespie, a senior biology major at UM, is one of two assistant directors for Grove Grocery. She began working with the organization in 2018 after taking a sociology course that highlighted food insecurity in Mississippi.

“Grove Grocery hopes to leave a legacy of hope and inclusivity,” Gillespie said. “Our dream is for there to one day no longer be a need for our campus to have a pantry due to a shift in awareness and resources for faculty, students and staff. Until then, we hope to not only continue to provide food, but other resources and support as well to

For more information on volunteering with Saints’ Brew or donating to the cause, email saintsbrewtupelo@gmail.com.

Learn more at grovegrocery.olemiss.edu. Monetary donations can be made at umfoundation.com/foodbank.

Grove Grocery

HELPERS & HEROES continued

In A Timely Fashion

Whitney Phillips launched In A Timely Fashion, a new nonprofit organization, in January 2021. Located in Oxford, the organization accepts new and used clothing donations that it gifts to patrons across northeast Mississippi.

“I’ve always had a passion for helping people,” Phillips said. “In A Timely Fashion was the perfect way to help others help others.”

Donations are currently porch delivery only, but Phillips uses her small business, Right On Time Errand Service, to pick up and drop off everything free of charge. In A Timely Fashion recently helped a family who lost its home in a house fire. After one of the family’s friends reached out to Phillips, She published a request for donations in the family’s clothing sizes on the nonprofit’s Facebook page, and her efforts resulted in a hefty number of donations.

“I am so excited and can’t wait to share more information about donation drives and other events I am planning,” Phillips said. “It has been such a blessing to be able to witness the support and willingness to help from the community, especially during such a challenging time.”

To donate clothing, email inatimelyfashionms@gmail.com or send a message via the nonprofit’s Facebook page, facebook.com/inatimelyfashionms.