In June, the Rotary Club of Moss Point hosted an Extra Table Packing Party to put together 2,500 packs (10,000 meals) of red beans and rice. The packs were then distributed to local food pantries and churches. We’re excited to begin planning another Extra Table Packing Party for Tuesday, April 13, 2027, and we would love for your club to join us in making this a larger, collaborative Rotary service project.

 

Extra Table was started by Chef Robert St. John. The packs of red beans and rice are fortified to include additional vitamins and minerals that those who are food insecure often lack. Each pack provides 4 meals.

 

Our last Packing Party was a wonderful example of what can happen when people come together for a common purpose. As we look toward next year, we know that the need for food assistance in our communities continues to grow. Local churches, food pantries, and other organizations are working hard to meet that need, and we believe Rotary has an opportunity to make a meaningful difference.

 

Our goal is to bring together the Rotary clubs of Moss Point, Lucedale, Pascagoula, Gautier, and Ocean Springs to pack meals that can be distributed to organizations serving families throughout our area. The packs would be distributed among the different communities.

 

The cost to provide 2,500 food packs is $6,841.60. However, for an additional $5,500, we can double our impact and provide 5,000 packs (20,000 meals), bringing the total project cost to $12,341.60. Because transportation and labor costs are already included, those additional funds go directly toward producing more food packs.

 

We are reaching out to community partners and potential sponsors to help with the financial cost of the project, but we also want this to be a true Rotary partnership. We are asking each club to consider participating in whatever way works best for its members, whether through volunteers for the Packing Party, a financial contribution toward the project, assistance securing sponsors, or a combination of these efforts.

 

Most importantly, we hope to have Rotarians from across our area working side by side on the day of the event. A project of this size gives us an opportunity not only to address food insecurity, but also to demonstrate the impact Rotary can have when our clubs work together.

 

We would be honored to have your club join us. If all five clubs come together, along with our community and corporate partners, we believe we can make the 2027 Extra Table Packing Party our largest and most impactful one yet.

 

Please let us know if your club would be interested in participating. We would be happy to discuss the project at an upcoming meeting and work together on the details as planning moves forward.

 

Thank you for all that your club does in service to our community. We hope you’ll join us next April as we put Service Above Self into action together.

 

Yours in Rotary,

Donna Stewart
President
Rotary Club of Moss Point