Mid-South Food Bank has leased 35,000 square feet of warehouse space in Batesville to be used as a satellite location for distributing food to its partner agencies in North Mississippi.

The Food Bank services 18 counties in North Mississippi including Panola. The warehouse is located at 875 Hwy. 51 S., at the rear of the existing building.

Cathy Pope, president & CEO at Mid-South Food Bank, said the addition of the warehouse in Batesville will make possible a 20 percent increase in the Food Bank’s distribution in North Mississippi or approximately 5,531,000 pounds of food per year, the equivalent of more than 4.6 million meals for people struggling with food insecurity and hunger.

“We are so excited about the opportunity to have a strategic location in Batesville to better serve our north Mississippi counties,” Pope said. “We hope it will make it possible for us to access even more food for the partner agencies that depend on us to serve their clients.”

Mid-South Food Bank plans to hire a warehouse manager and two warehouse associates immediately, with positions for truck drivers coming at a later date. They will also be purchasing warehouse equipment and supplies from local vendors, as much as possible, Pope added.

“We are delighted to be in Batesville. The people we’ve met have been so friendly and easy to work with and the town is just charming,” she said. “We are glad this all worked out for the Food Bank and for our agencies.”

Mid-South Food Bank plans to keep an average inventory of about 540,000 pounds of food, including refrigerated and frozen food in approximately 2,900 cubic feet of space. Food will be procured through the Food Bank’s network of food donors and vendors, and restricted for distribution in North Mississippi only. Partner food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and other agencies will be able to pick up food orders at the facility or arrange for delivery, the same as they are now doing from the Food Bank’s 150,000 square-foot facility in Memphis. The Food Bank currently partners with nearly 80 agencies and Mobile Pantry sites in their 18 counties, including the South Panola Food Pantry and the Boys & Girls Club of the Mississippi Delta in Batesville.

Mid-South Food Bank serves the following counties in North Mississippi: Panola, Tunica, Coahoma, Quitman, Tate, Tunica, Union, Marshall, Lafayette, Prentiss, Pontotoc, Lee, Monroe, Tishomingo, Itawamba, DeSoto, Benton and Tippah.