Volunteers help put Thanksgiving dinner on the table for more than 9,800 Mississippi families.

Holidays like Thanksgiving are times for making wonderful memories, and a delicious meal is typically at the center of it all.

However, for nearly 624,000 households across Mississippi, the recent federal government shutdown and the pause in SNAP benefits put their access to food at risk.

To help, more than 70 Cadence Bank volunteers from Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Jackson and Tupelo branches rallied to support Extra Table’s annual “Give ’Em A Bird” frozen chicken distribution before Thanksgiving.

"We’re delivering 9,810 frozen chickens to 66 food pantries and soup kitchens across the state,” said Extra Table Executive Director Martha Allen."

"These chickens have truly ‘taken flight,’ thanks to the wonderful Cadence Bank volunteers who have loaded our trucks with hundreds of boxes of frozen birds."

Martha Allen, Extra Table Executive Director

Here, Allen shares more details about "Give ’Em A Bird” and the work Extra Table does throughout the state.

Why are you delivering chickens and not turkeys?

The answer is simple. Frozen chickens take less room in standard freezers found in food pantries and soup kitchens. Plus, more people know how to cook chicken versus a turkey.

We also have an incredible opportunity to purchase chickens raised and packaged in Mississippi. It’s a product that positively impacts the Mississippi economy in such a big way.

What else are you providing food pantries this month?

The week before Thanksgiving, we’ll be sending sweet potatoes as well as rice from our partners at Brooks Rice.

Distributing frozen chickens at Thanksgiving has become our tradition. However, because of the pause in SNAP benefits and to help fill the void caused by the federal government shutdown, our board voted to let us double our donation to pantry partners for November. We typically spend $95,000 a month on healthy food distributed to 66 food pantries across Mississippi. For November, we committed $190,000 for food plus funds for the frozen chickens.

How does Cadence Bank support Extra Table and its mission?

We are so grateful for the ongoing volunteer support Cadence provides, like helping us pack meal kits during the year. Also, for the past two years, Cadence has made $50,000 donations, where 100% of the funds are used to purchase healthy food that feeds about 200,000 food-insecure Mississippians. Extra Table receives no government subsidies, which allows us to be nimble and make decisions for Mississippians by Mississippians to feed Mississippians.

About Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank (NYSE: CADE) is a $53 billion regional bank committed to helping people, companies and communities prosper. With nearly 400 locations spanning the South and Texas, Cadence offers comprehensive banking, investment, trust and mortgage products and services to meet the needs of individuals, businesses and corporations. Accolades include being recognized as one of the nation’s best employers by Forbes and U.S. News & World Report and as a 2025 America’s Best Banks by Forbes. Cadence has dutifully served customers for nearly 150 years. Learn more at www.cadencebank.com. Cadence Bank, Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.

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