Chick-fil-A, Volunteers Feed Cleveland Community Members

Volunteers packaged meals Tuesday to be delivered to Delta community members 

Chick-fil-A at West Jackson Avenue and a team of nine other Chick-fil-A restaurants from across the state of Mississippi partnered with Delta State University Continuing Education Tuesday to deliver 2,700 hot sandwiches to members of the Cleveland community.

The previously scheduled Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Kickoff event was postponed due to Monday’s tragic shooting on the Delta State University campus, but volunteers still saw a need to continue efforts to give back to the community.

“Because everything was set and in place for the event, Chick- fil-A, Feeding Children Everywhere and Delta State wanted to go through with as much as they could to help the community during this tragedy,” said Elizabeth Joel, Coordinator of Continuing Education at DSU.

The Chick-fil-A Leader Academy was supposed to included more than 500 high school students from across the state in an organized effort to package 200,000 non-perishable meals to be distributed across the United States. The Chick-fil-A truck was going to be on campus to deliver 2,700 sandwiches to the community with the help of DSU volunteers and Chick-fil-A operators; however, due to Monday’s tragedy, the kickoff event was canceled.

Instead, volunteers distributed the 2,700 hot sandwiches to community businesses, law enforcement officers, after-school programs and other local areas in Cleveland and other nearby communities.

“This was a way to bring our DSU family together despite the tragedy,” Joel said.  DSU staff, faculty, students and community were invited to come out to Wyatt Gym at 1 p.m. on Tuesday to pack non-perishable boxes that would be delivered to Delta families.

More than 150 volunteers took part in the initiative, known as the Feeding Children Everywhere event. After two and a half hours, 101,592 non-perishable meals were packed – all of which will stay in Mississippi to be distributed to families in need.

“Delta State is very grateful to Chick Fil A and Feeding Children Everywhere for their support and willingness to stay and help our community during this tragedy.Our DSU Family came together to show their pride for our community and packed meals that will feed families at our back door,” Joel said.

The Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Kickoff event will be rescheduled in the upcoming weeks.