Booneville Ministry Offers Free Weekly Meal, Life Skills

A Booneville ministry that began as a community garden is now serving a free Booneville ministry meal every Monday night and teaching neighbors the skills to stay on their feet, according to a profile in the Booneville Banner-Independent.

From a Garden to a Nonprofit

Founder Hilary Glover, a Wheeler native, started Honey in the Rock in 2018 with a community garden meant to help struggling residents grow food for their families. The gardens produced more than was needed, which led to canning classes. Those classes have since grown to include sewing, cooking, crocheting and other life skills.

Honey in the Rock became a nonprofit in 2023 and in 2024 moved into the former Grace United Methodist Church building on Church Street.

What the Ministry Offers

• A free meal open to the public every Monday from 5 to 7 p.m.
• A clothing room
• Emergency food assistance
• Weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings
• Classes in canning, sewing, cooking, crocheting and other life skills

A Hand Up, Not a Handout

Glover says the mission is to end hunger and generational poverty by teaching self-sufficiency. She describes the approach as offering a hand up rather than a handout, noting that people often need help but feel pride gets in the way of asking.

She also says Booneville has more homeless residents than many people realize, and that the largest group is elderly. Most, she said, are not newcomers but longtime residents caught in a cycle of poverty.

How to Help

The ministry runs on a budget of about $100,000 a year, which Glover says is stretched thin. Churches, groups and individuals are needed to help provide the weekly meals. Those interested can call 662-554-7596.

Source: Booneville Banner-Independent

Related: Prentiss County recovery center