YMCA serves summer meals on a weekly basis in Walls
July 7, 2025 – Mississippi continues to rank among the states with the highest level of food insecurity in the country, meaning a significant number of Magnolia State residents wake up every day not knowing where their next meal will come from. Estimates have as many as 22 percent of Mississippians fall into this category. For children, the figure is that one in four youngsters are “food insecure.”
Parents who this year had been depending on the DeSoto County Schools pilot summer meals program have had to find other sources for food since the district’s program ended in late June.
One of the programs filling that gap in food has come in the YMCA of Memphis and the Mid-South’s Summer Food Program. Senior Vice President for Strategy and Development Justin Inskeep said the summer program is held to fight the problem of hunger in the area.
“The Y is committed to stepping in that gap and making sure we do our part, along with community partners and others, to make sure no child is left hungry if we have anything to do with that,” Inskeep said.
The issue is real in DeSoto County. Statistics from Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap” for the county show the food insecurity rate for children is at 16.2 percent. About 7,440 children in DeSoto County are considered to be “food insecure” with 43 percent of county children likely ineligible for federal nutrition programs.
The need for food increases in the summer, Inskeep said, because youngsters don’t get the food in the summer they normally get through free or reduced programs during the school year.
During a 10-week period, five north Mississippi locations, including the Walls Town Hall, distribute a week’s worth of breakfasts and lunches to those in need. In Walls, the stop is on Thursday morning between 9-11:30 a.m.
Cars can be seen lining up during the two-and-a-half hour period when basic information is taken, followed by boxes being loaded into the vehicle depending on the number of children, 18 years and under, who are being fed.
“A family or child can come to one of our distribution sites and then we provide that child a pack of non-perishable meals that they can use for seven days; seven breakfasts and seven lunches that they have,” Inskeep said. “To be able to feed kids and give them food for seven days makes a tremendous impact, and that’s our goal.”
That impact can be recognized in that over 150,000 meals have been distributed in North Mississippi during the summer, with 41,000 meals leaving the Walls site alone. The number of people showing up each week can range from 50 to 300 families. Weekly distributions will continue until Aug. 2, when the summer program ends. The YMCA expects more than 300,000 meals will be passed out by that time.
“I would say the Y is a unique organization that is blessed to have the resources and unique partnerships and skill sets that can deliver this at scale,” Inskeep said. “We have a lot of community partners that help with volunteerism, ensuring we can get the meals and then into the kids’ hands. This is also a USDA program where we work side-by-side with them.”
The partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) means the meals will meet nutritional needs.
“We have to meet specific guidelines for nutrition,” Inskeep said. “They’re non-perishable foods, shelf-stable, and there’s a milk-bread protein component. These meal boxes are appealing with name brands, colorful pictures, and things like that. We’re meeting the needs of nutrition but we’ve also learned that we want the way that the packaging looks to be appealing for the child.”
Walls Mayor Keidron Henderson noted the program is not just for Walls residents.
“You can be from Hernando, Horn Lake, you can even be from across the state line in Memphis, just pull up,” Henderson said. “It’s hassle free, and it’s seven meals per child, and there’s no limit to the amount of children that, you know, you can have the benefit from this.”
Henderson added the YMCA program expands on a smaller program the Town of Walls had been doing on a weekly basis.
Other North Mississippi sites for the YMCA summer program are in Byhalia, Water Valley, Abbeyville, Dundee, and South Tunica.
“We’ve grown by 50 percent in food service sites since last year and our goal is to continue year over year,” Inskeep said.
Learn more about the Summer Food Program at the YMCA website.
