Low-Income Resources in Mississippi
Welcome to Money Fit’s Low-Income Resource list. We have organized different options into four categories: Food, Housing/Utilities, Child/Family Care, and Healthcare. Each resource includes a brief description, along with contact information such as a phone number and website URL.
Food Resources
TEFAP – The Emergency Food Assistance Program
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) is funded entirely by the United States Department of Agriculture. Commodities are stored at the Mississippi Food Network in Jackson and the Twelve Baskets Food Bank in Biloxi. The commodities are distributed through food pantries, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters throughout the state.
Address: Mississippi Department of Human Services – 750 North State St. Jackson, MS 39202
Phone: 1-800-948-3050 | 1-601-359-4419
Website: https://www.fns.usda.gov/tefap/emergency-food-assistance-program
Division of Economic Assistance Food Stamps Program
Mississippi Department of Human Services handles the Division of Economic Assistance, which oversees the SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in Mississippi. The USDA changed the name of the federal food stamp program to SNAP in 2008.
Address: Mississippi Department of Human Services 750 North State Street Jackson, MS 39202
Phone: 1-800-948-3050 | 1-601-359-4419
Federal Resource – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.
Housing and Utilities
Weatherization Assistance Program
The MDHS Weatherization Assistance Program is designed to reduce energy costs for eligible families by making their homes more energy efficient. The program, which serves the elderly, disabled, and low-income families with young children, improves the energy performance of dwellings to decrease monthly energy expenditures. Weatherization crews provide the most cost-effective, energy-efficient measures to address health and safety concerns and improve comfort and air quality. The Weatherization Assistance Program is available to individuals who are within 200 percent of current federal poverty guidelines.
Phone: 1-800-421-0762 or 1-601-359-4768
Federal Resource – Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps keep families safe and healthy through initiatives that assist families with energy costs.
Child and Family Care
Mississippi Department of Employment Security
The goal of the Mississippi Department of Employment Security is to help Mississippians get jobs. Through our network of WIN Job Centers, MDES matches qualified, prospective employees with employers.
Address: Office of the Governor 1235 Echelon Parkway P.O. Box 1699 Jackson, MS 39215-1699
Phone: 1-601-321-6000
Website: https://mdes.ms.gov/
TANF – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
The TANF program, administered by the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS), provides assistance for needy families with children up to age 18 years without regard to race, creed, color, gender, age, disability, or national origin. Monthly TANF money payments are made for children and their needy caretaker relatives who do not have enough income or resources to meet their everyday needs by state program standards.
Address: Mississippi Department of Human Services 750 North State St., Jackson, MS 39202
Phone: 1-800-345-6347 | 1-601-359-4500
Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative
Mississippi’s Child Care Payment Program helps low-income working parents afford early childhood education and care programs. These programs have been proven to increase employment, reduce poverty, reduce absenteeism and turnover for employers, contribute more tax revenue into the general fund, and support school readiness in children.
Phone: 1-228-669-4827 | 1-866-981-1511
Federal Resource – Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
WIC is a federally funded nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children that helps families by providing financial assistance to purchase healthy supplemental foods from WIC-authorized vendors.
WIC also provides nutrition education, breastfeeding information, and support as well as assists in finding healthcare and other community services.
Federal Resource – The Head Start Program
Head Start programs support children’s growth and development in a positive learning environment through a variety of services, which include:
- Early learning: Children’s readiness for school and beyond is fostered through individualized learning experiences. Through relationships with adults, play, and planned and spontaneous instruction, children grow in many aspects of development.
- Health: Each child’s perceptual, motor, and physical development is supported to permit them to fully explore and function in their environment. All children receive health and development screenings, nutritious meals, oral health, and mental health support. Programs connect families with medical, dental, and mental health services to ensure that children are receiving the services they need.
- Family well-being: Parents and families are supported in achieving their own goals, such as housing stability, continued education, and financial security. Programs support and strengthen parent-child relationships and engage families around children’s learning and development.
Federal Resource – Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides grant funds to states and territories to provide families with financial assistance and related support services. State-administered programs may include childcare assistance, job preparation, and work assistance.
Healthcare Resources
Federal Resource – Medicaid
Authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act, Medicaid was signed into law in 1965 alongside Medicare. All states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have Medicaid programs designed to provide health coverage for low-income people. Although the Federal government establishes certain parameters for all states to follow, each state administers its Medicaid program differently, resulting in variations in Medicaid coverage across the country.
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