The first thing many families remember is the bitter cold, the kind of cold that settles into homes when power goes out and roads turn to ice. In towns across Mississippi, neighbors checked on neighbors, churches opened their doors, and volunteers worked through freezing conditions to make sure no one faced the storm alone.

When winter weather disrupted communities across the state, the American Red Cross quickly mobilized to provide emergency relief. Shelters opened to offer warmth and safety. Volunteers served hot meals, delivered supplies, and helped families navigate the uncertainty that followed prolonged outages and hazardous travel. Across the response, more than 86,000 meals were served, each one a moment of stability during an unpredictable time.

Inside shelters and across local neighborhoods, support came from every direction. Members of the Divine 9 stepped forward, volunteering alongside Red Cross teams to welcome guests, distribute meals, and help transport food and critical supplies into communities that were difficult to reach. Their presence strengthened outreach and ensured that relief efforts were rooted in trust and local connection.

As conditions improved and the emergency phase began to ease, a deeper challenge emerged. Many communities in the Mississippi Delta are longstanding food deserts, where local pantries already serve as a primary source of food for families. The storm dramatically increased demand, causing shelves to empty faster than they could be restocked and stretching the limited equipment and infrastructure these grassroots ministries rely on every day.

Rather than stepping away when shelters closed, the Red Cross shifted toward long-term recovery by investing directly in trusted local partners. Through Operation Food Pantry Rapid Impact Grants - a model where the Red Cross approaches a community partner and purchases the specific supplies requested by an organization to help them continue the services they already provide - community pantries received food, equipment, and infrastructure designed to strengthen their ongoing work. Deliveries included canned and dry goods, tables and chairs, a pallet jack and even a 24-foot trailer to expand storage capacity, ensuring that local ministries could keep serving families without interruption.