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EVENTS& programs
From food drives to 5ks, there is an event for you!
Throughout the year, the Extra Table team hosts events across the state to raise funds and awareness.
We have fun while remaining mission-focused.
Empty bowls
Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to fight hunger. The 7th Annual Extra Table Empty Bowls fundraiser will be held at Delta Arts Alliance, 104 S. Court Street in Cleveland, Mississippi, on Friday, October 23rd, from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Ticketed patrons receive a delicious meal of soup, bread, dessert and a drink. Patrons also take home a one-of-a-kind handcrafted bowl by a Delta State University ceramic student or a Delta potter as a reminder of those hungry in our communities whose bowls are empty.
Funds raised from this event will provide food to Delta-area food pantries and soup kitchens, including Caring Hands (Itta Bena), Clarksdale Care Station, Hearty Helpings Food Pantry (Greenville), Lexington Food Pantry, Helping Hands (Belzoni), Helping Hands (Cleveland), Robert Neil Food Pantry (Charleston), St. Vincent De Paul (Greenville), Tutwiler Community Education Center, and the Statesman’s Shelf (on the campus of Delta State University).
tickets will go on sale soon!
March of the mayors
2026 DATES
Collection starts: January 20
Box Packing Week: March 2-6
5 DAYS, 5 REGIONS, AND
FIFTY+ MAYORS
One of Extra Table’s premiere annual programs is March of the Mayors. Driven by the mayors of more than 50 cities across Mississippi, March of the Mayors is a statewide canned food drive. Broken into five regions (The Coast, the Pine Belt, the Jackson Metro area, the Mississippi Delta, and North Mississippi area), each participating city will begin collecting a particular food item on January 21, 2025, and collection runs through February 21. The following week, Extra Table will host five food-box packing parties in five cities.
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Cleveland: February 24
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Tupelo: February 25
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Jackson: February 26
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Hattiesburg: February 27
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Gulfport: February 28
March of the Mayors is a fun way to help engage the local community while fighting hunger in our own backyards. It’s a canned food drive, a fundraiser and ‘Mississippi’s Largest Food Box Packing Party’ complete with Moon Pies, Mardi Gras beads, hundreds of volunteers and a jazzy second line with a mission to feed hungry Mississippians! At the end of each regional food box packing party, food collected and packed is picked up by the local food pantries of each participating city.
MOON PIES, MARDI GRAS BEADS, AND VOLUNTEERS ALL ROLLED INTO ONE JAZZY SECOND LINE WITH A MISSION TO FEED HUNGRY MISSISSIPPIANS!
Our 15th anniversary
December 09, 2024, marks fifteen years since our first truckload of food was delivered to Edwards Street Fellowship Center.
In 2009, Restaurateur Robert St. John received a call from the Edwards Street Fellowship Center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Simply put, they had run out of food. Being a 30-year restaurant industry veteran, he figured the fastest, easiest way to get food to the pantry would be to call his Sysco sales representative, place an order, and have the truck drop the order at the agency’s doorstep the next day... and that's what he did. The food made it to the pantry just in time to ensure the clients - depending on Edwards Street to feed their families - got the food they so desperately needed.
Afterward, Robert wondered if other agencies throughout Mississippi were having similar problems. He found a host of organizations throughout the state with the same need and decided to approach Sysco to propose a question: “What if every business and home had an extra table where they could feed those in need? What would that look like?”
Sysco loved the idea, and Extra Table was born.
extra full:
red beans & rice
The Extra Table team, working with The University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Entergy, United Health, and Reed Foods, has developed Extra Full, a four-serving, one-pot meal that can be on the table in less than half an hour just by boiling for 30 minutes.This Southern Red Beans and Rice meal uses Two Brooks Farm rice grown in the Mississippi Delta, red beans, and a spice and vitamin mix. The meal is high in fiber, low in sodium, and has 22 vitamins and minerals - important items that food-insecure Mississippians' diets lack. The power of this meal pack is that red beans and rice, together, make a complete protein.There is nothing like Extra Full in Mississippi. Volunteers will pack Extra Full meals, which will be distributed to Mississippi food pantries at no cost to the pantries in addition to the food Extra Table currently ships monthly.Extra Full provides nutrition while encouraging families to gather around the dinner table. As many Mississippians lack access to food, we are working harder to create new and delicious sources of nourishment through the Extra Full program.
bourbon festival
EXTRA TABLE is hosting our 6th Annual Bourbon Festival on October 9, 2025, in Jackson, MS at The Mississippi museum of art.
The Bourbon Festival is a one-night event. General admission is from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., and VIP admission begins at 5:30 p.m.
The VIP tasting showcases an incredible flight of bourbons selected by Jamie Farris, owner of Lincoln Road Package Store.
All ticket holders will enjoy an evening of big entertainment with a vast array of bourbons. Jamie and the Lincoln Road Package team will present over 125 bourbons for tasting and a cocktail competition featuring Old Soul bourbon poured by some of the area’s favorite bartenders.
Plan on staying for a while. Artist Adam Trest will be painting live. Don’t miss your chance to bid on his unique creation, which will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the night's end! There will be music, stilt walkers, jugglers, socializing, and a good time for all.
Tickets will go on sale soon!
OPERA NOTTE
Tickets go on sale August 1.
LIMITED TO THE FIRST 200.
TABLES OF 8 MAY BE RESERVED.
Opera Notte is a one-of-a-kind evening of food and song hosted by Extra Table and founder Robert St. John in celebration of 15 years of feeding hungry Mississippians. The elegant dinner, featuring signature dishes from RSJ’s award-winning restaurants, will be followed by an intimate performance by Italian opera tenor Maurizio Marchini, known worldwide for serenading his neighbors from a balcony in Florence during the pandemic. Guests will enjoy Italian wines, beautiful music, and unforgettable hospitality—all while supporting Extra Table’s mission to fight hunger across the state. It’s a night where generosity and artistry take center stage.
🗓️ Sunday, September 21
📍 Hattiesburg Train Depot - 308 Newman St, Hattiesburg
⏰ 5:00 – 6:00 PM Cocktail Hour featuring Italian wines
🍽️ 6:00 PM Dinner
Catering by Robert St. John’s Restaurants
🎶 6:30 PM Italian Opera Tenor Maurizio Marchini performance
👔 Dress: Business
🎟️ Plus: A raffle to win a trip to Italy with Robert St. John!
farm to fork:
run & ride
FARM TO FORK
RIDE & RUN
is hosted every year in Hattiesburg, MS!
Farm to Fork starts and finishes at the Barn at Bridlewood (32 Railroad Rd, Hattiesburg, MS 39402.
Save the Date for F2F2025: April 25-26, 2025!
Farm to Fork is the ultimate experience for foodie cyclists and runners. Beginning at The Barn at Bridlewood, participants ride or run while sampling various healthy, fresh foods from local chefs.
Cyclists sample foods throughout their ride at the several culinary “pit stops” along the course. All participants unite at the finish-line party for food, music, dancing, and a heck of a good time. While participants enjoy chef-prepared food, they support Extra Table's efforts to purchase healthy, nutritious meals for our hungry Mississippi neighbors.
Participants choose from one of five rides and races:
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32-mile bike ride
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48-mile bike ride
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62-mile bike ride
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5K run
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10K run
Register today, by visiting the official Farm to Fork website!
Farm to Fork will NOT include a criterium this year on Friday, April 25.