About us
 

A Taste of Faith is a nonprofit charitable organization working to end hunger and bridge the food insecurity gap in Copiah County of Mississippi. Patricia Johnson is the Founder and Executive Director of A Taste of Faith, which is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization. Although A Taste of Faith is in Crystal Springs, Copiah County of Mississippi, our service is not limited to Crystal Springs. We service the Copiah County area. We understand there is food insecurity and a need to end hunger in Mississippi, which is why A Taste of Faith was developed. We want to aid in ending hunger and help bridge the gap in food insecurity. A Taste of Faith will provide nutritious meals to low-income families, provide cooking and nutritious workshops, and training. 

 

In April of 2010, the founder of A Taste of Faith developed a feeding program at in Detroit, Michigan, which is still serving families of low-income and the homeless population. It was launched out of seeing the need in the community with our low income and homeless population. After moving back to Mississippi in 2012, and serving in various capacities in the community, she developed the Faith Tabernacle Feeding Ministry, which is still serving families with low-income under the founder of A Taste of Faith leadership.

 

The meals we provide to low-income families would include the five food groups, which are fruits,  vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. Although there is food insecurity in Mississippi, we have an obesity rate of 37.3% as of 2018, which has been steadily increasing (Grant, et al). According to an article written by Vanessa Beeson, people over the age of 65 account for about 8.5 percent of the food insecurity population in the United States (Buys, D. 2015), and according to University of Mississippi Medical Center, one out of every three adults are considered obese in Mississippi (2023), which the food insecurity is believed to be a contributing factor. In our efforts to help bridge the food insecurity gap by providing meals to low-income families, we believe this would also help in fighting obesity and other health issues associated with food insecurity.

 

We provide meals for low-income families with a focus on the elderly and children who are part of the vulnerable population, according to nih.gov (2013). Having worked in the education system, we know the only meal some children receive is at school. A Taste of Faith wants to address that issue. We want to make sure that even when children are not in school, they receive a meal. We want to make sure that the elderly who are living off Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI), which is about $944.00 per month, have enough food to get through the month. According to the Social Security Administration, Mississippi does not supplement SSI payments (2023), which can cause food insecurity.

 

By providing cooking and nutrition workshops, we want to educate the community about nutrition, how to properly handle food, and how to prep meals for the week. We believe knowing is half the battle and doing is the other half. As we educate the community about nutrition, we will provide groceries for attendees to help implement what they learned while addressing food insecurity.