Barbour Announces Large Donation to MS Food Network

About the Mississippi Poultry Association MPA is composed of six poultry and egg companies, about 100 allied company members who provide goods and services to poultry companies and growers, and 800 growers. About 45,000 people are employed directly and indirectly by the industry. There are 22 poultry plants in the state. Poultry is Mississippi’s largest agricultural industry, pumping an estimated $6 billion into the state’s economy. MPA was formed in 1937 as the Mississippi Poultry Improvement Association. The industry has grown from a few family-owned feed and seed stores who sold chickens and farmers who raised chickens, mostly sold locally during the Depression, into an integrated global industry with about 20 percent of production exported. Mississippi’s 3^rd Congressional District leads the nation in poultry and egg production.  Most of the farms and processing plants are concentrated in a backwards L from Philadelphia to Laurel-Waynesboro and over to Brookhaven-McComb. About Mississippi Food Network Mississippi Food Network provides donated food and household items to more than 320 member agencies across the state.  With the current economy, the member agencies are serving more than 120,000 people each month.  We distribute more than 1.5 million of pounds each month to our member agencies, which are operating Emergency Food Pantries, Day Care Centers, Emergency Shelters, Group Homes, Soup Kitchens, Teen Centers, Alcohol and Drug Rehabs, Homeless Shelters and Senior Citizen Programs. To find out more about Mississippi Food Network, visit www.msfoodnet.org]]]]> ]]>