Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, with the help of local and corporate sponsors, broke the world record for largest jambalaya on May 1 in Ocean Springs as part of a fundraiser for campus food pantries.
Pending the filing of paperwork, the college’s attempt will be in the book “Guinness World Records” for the feat.
Carin Platt, event organizer, said that more than $3,200 was raised to benefit the food pantries and more than 2,000 people in need were fed during the event. “It was an amazing day thanks to the back-breaking work of so many. We were also able to feed so many in need and bring awareness to food insecurity on college campuses.”
The Largest Jambalaya event is the second event of its kind held by the college. The first was Largest Pulled Pork BBQ in 2018.
“The food pantries at each of the college’s locations help our students through many trying times for them, whether it is food insecurity for just them or for their whole family,” Platt said. “We provide frozen items, dry and canned goods, and personal hygiene products. We also have pop-up food pantries located around campus to provide snacks for students who need them.”
Platt said food insecurity is much more prevalent on college campuses than most of us like to think. “In a country like the U.S., where you would think everyone had access to proper nourishment, food insecurity is a very real thing. It affects people in the general public and many students on our college campuses as well. We don’t want our students to be worried about where their next meal is coming from and want to make sure that they have what they need to succeed in college.”
Event sponsors included The Pelican, MGCCC Food Pantries, Smithfield Foods, Southern Event & Party, Justin Wilson’s Southern Products, Lynchburg Landing, and System Scales Corporation Mobile.