According to Feeding America, around 16.2% of children in DeSoto County, Mississippi struggle with food insecurity. Hoping to mitigate this problem, Roben Nobles, Alisha Green, and Toni Coleman, came together to create Mighty Mustang Meals in 2019.  The volunteer club started at Overpark and Center Hill Elementary and soon spread to the middle and high school. Nobles has been constantly working hard to ensure that the children in need in the Center Hill community get a chance to eat.

Question: How is the Mighty Mustangs Meal program funded?

Nobles: We used to take donations for food, but that never worked out really well because people would just bring expired food from their pantry. Then we went to fundraisers. We have a golf tournament where we make enough money from our golf tournament and individual donations to fund us the whole year. 

Question: How can people help?

Nobles: They can donate money; they can donate time to help pack the food on Wednesdays. You can donate to help do that, and you can also volunteer to help organize the pantry and stock the pantry when the food shipments come in.

Question: What do you want to accomplish with Mighty Mustang Meals?

Nobles: There are so many students that go without food over the weekend, and in DeSoto County alone, the last number I saw was six million. I don’t know if that’s an accurate number now or not, but our goal is to make sure that no kid has to go without food. You cannot function at school if you don’t eat. 

Question: Why does Mighty Mustang Meals matter? 

Nobles: Because the kids matter, and that’s our main goal is to take care of the kids. Whether it’s food or school supplies or coats or a toothbrush and toothpaste, we’re here to help whoever’s in need. We’ve helped families whose houses have burned down; we’ve helped families that have had a massive death in their family. We’re here to help, and that’s our main goal.