Although the City of Laurel is nearly 100 miles from the nearest ocean, on Monday, January 27, 2025, Mayor Johnny Magee and city staff members gathered at City Hall to declare Tuesday, January 21st through Friday, February 21st as Tuna Season in the City of Laurel.
Canned tuna, that is.
Each year, the City of Laurel participates in the March of the Mayors food drive sponsored by Extra Table, a non-profit organization established by local restauranteur Robert St. John to address hunger and obesity across the state.
March of the Mayors is one of the organization’s biggest annual events. During the month-long collection period, cities within a region of the state are assigned a healthy, non-perishable food item to collect. Once the cities have collected their items, they deliver them to a central location for a packing party where volunteers pack up shoebox size containers with a selection of items collected from each city. The shoeboxes are then packed on pallets and distributed to partner food pantries throughout the area.
For the Pine Belt Region, the City of Laurel collects canned tuna, Collins and Magee collect spaghetti noodles, Columbia collects dried beans, Ellisville collects granola bars, Hattiesburg collects peanut butter, Lumberton and Petal collect canned fruit, Purvis and Sandersville collect canned green beans, Poplarville and Wiggins collect rice, and Sumrall collects canned corn.
This year’s partner agencies include USM Eagle’s Nest, Christian Services, Petal Children’s Taskforce, Sumrall Food Pantry, Brother’s Keepers Ministries, Hope Community Collective, UMS Magee Pantry, the Baptist Association and the Good Samaritan Center in Laurel.
To encourage participation, the City of Laurel is hosting a “fishing contest” between City Hall, the Laurel Fire Department and the Laurel Police Department to see which one can collect the most cans of tuna. The winning department will be awarded the traveling “Big Tuna” trophy. Second place will receive the “Lil Tuna” trophy.
Donations can be dropped off at the Laurel-Jones County library, City Hall, the Laurel Police Department, or any of the city’s fire stations.
The proclamation read as follows:
Whereas, the state of Mississippi ranks first in obesity and second in both hunger and poverty; and
Whereas, 1 in 10 working Mississippians lack food; and
Whereas, Extra Table is a non-profit organization that provides healthy foods to food pantries across the state; and
Whereas; Extra Table hosts the March of the Mayors food drive each year to allow communities to work together to fill pantries in their regions; and
Whereas, Extra Table will distribute goods collected during this food drive to partner agencies in Laurel including the Good Samaritan Center; and
Whereas, the City of Laurel wishes to participate in this worthwhile program; and
Whereas, the City of Laurel has been asked to collect canned tuna
Now, therefore, I, Johnny Magee, Mayor of the City of Laurel, do hereby declare Tuesday, January 21st to Friday, February 21st to be Tuna Season in the City of Laurel and encourage all citizens to collect and donate cans of tuna for this food drive, in witness thereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the City of Laurel, Mississippi, to be affixed this the 27th day of January, A.D. 2025.
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