Fostering a Just Food System

In April, the Mississippi Food Systems Fellowship held its final gathering in Choctaw, Mississippi, celebrating a transformative multi-year journey of 20 fellows. Representing Jackson, the Gulf Coast, Choctaw, and the Delta, these food system advocates, farmers, and community organizers — including  Mississippi Farm to School Network’s director, Umi Jenkins, and associate director, Sydney Turnipseed — have grown into whole, healthy, trusted leaders rooted in their communities. Guided by the Center for Mississippi Food Systems, the fellowship has fostered trust, cultural learning, political education, and responsible imagination. Over the past five years, this safe space has anchored structural change, informed institutional and public policy, and advanced people-centered, equity-driven, and sustainable food systems work across Mississippi.