Gleaners MS

Community Partners Make This Work Possible

Behind every successful nonprofit is a community of people who believe in the mission.

Today we're highlighting Tay Hatcher, whose support and partnership have helped strengthen The Gleaners' work to reduce food waste and fight hunger across Mississippi.

Our mission depends on more than food donations alone. It takes advocates, community leaders, businesses, and individuals who are willing to invest their time, expertise, and support to help move this work forward.

We're grateful for partners like Tay who continue to champion our mission and help create a stronger, more connected community.

Together, we're making sure more food reaches the people who need it most.

There are a lot of ways to support this work, but right now, a few things would make an immediate difference.

We need volunteers to help with sorting and distribution. Even a few hours can go a long way.

We’re looking for partners—local businesses with surplus food who are willing to redirect it instead of discarding it.

And continued donations help us keep the entire system moving, from transportation to distribution.

If you’ve been thinking about getting involved, this is a good time to start.

Not everything requires a long-term commitment.
But every action helps move this work forward.

There are so many ways to help fight hunger in Mississippi.

You can volunteer your time, donate resources, support local partners, or help spread awareness about food insecurity in our communities. Every box packed, every hour served, and every donation made helps us rescue and redistribute food that would otherwise go to waste.

At The Gleaners, we believe small actions add up to meaningful impact—and we couldn’t do this work without our volunteers and supporters.

Want to get involved? Visit our website to learn more about volunteering, donating, or partnering with us.

A strong community starts with people willing to show up for one another.

We’re thankful for local partners like Primos who help support our mission to reduce food waste and fight hunger across Mississippi. Every partnership helps us continue rescuing surplus food and redistributing it to the people and organizations who need it most.

Primos Cafe

Our new van helps us rescue and redistribute more food across the communities we serve, connecting surplus food from grocery stores, restaurants, and caterers with the people who need it most. For over 39 years, The Gleaners has worked to make sure good food doesn’t go to waste.

Because hunger and food waste can both be solved when communities work together.

This work doesn’t happen in isolation.

It happens because businesses choose to be part of something bigger.

Today, we’re highlighting one of our partners, Salad Days, who helps make food rescue possible by donating surplus food that would otherwise go to waste.

Partnerships like this are what allow us to scale our impact—turning excess into access, and making sure more food reaches more people.

If you’re a business with surplus food, there is a way for it to do more.

And it starts with a simple yes.

Salad Days Produce

Most people never see what happens between surplus food and a family’s table.

It starts with a call or a scheduled pickup. A grocery store, a restaurant, a partner with food they can’t use, but that is still perfectly good.

From there, our volunteers step in. Food is collected, sorted, checked, and organized. What can be distributed immediately is prepared for delivery. What needs extra handling is processed so it doesn’t go to waste.

Then it moves back out into the community. To shelters. To churches. To organizations serving families who need it.

This is what food rescue really looks like.

Too many go hungry while good food goes to waste.

Gleaners of Mississippi rescues surplus food from retailers, grocers, caterers, and hospitals that would otherwise go to waste. When food can’t be distributed as-is, it’s repurposed through processing or alternative uses to ensure nothing valuable is lost. From there, nutritious food is redistributed to shelters, churches, and community partners, helping fight hunger while reducing food waste across Mississippi.