Local and state officials gathered Thursday at Mars Food, Inc. in Greenville to celebrate the company's 30th anniversary in the Port City. Attending the festivities were (from left) Ronnie Taylor, plant director of the Greenville Mars facility, Board of Supervisors president Paul Watson, Greenville mayor Heather Hudson, Gov. Haley Barbour and Congressman Bennie Thompson. (Delta Democrat Times photo by Bill Johnson)

GREENVILLE - Mars Food U.S. announced a $7 million expansion of its Greenville site on Thursday as the company celebrated its 30th anniversary in the Mississippi Delta.Mars plans to build a state-of-the-art distribution center for the Uncle Ben's rice products that come out of the Greenville site.Mars officials do not know how many jobs the new warehouse - which will be located on Mississippi 1 South - will create, but Ronnie Taylor, plant director of Mars' Greenville site, said it will be an engine for economic growth in the area.“This is a great punch for economic development,” Taylor said.

The many state and local leaders who came to Mars' Greenville site to hear the expansion announcement praised the company for growing despite hard economic times.“I don't have to tell you that the nation's economy is not strong and that we're not immune to what happens nationally,” said Gov. Haley Barbour, adding that Mississippi's tax revenue was two percent less than expected this year.

“To come down here today for Uncle Ben's latest expansion (shows) there are some good things going on in our state,” Barbour said.U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson shared Barbour's enthusiasm about the expansion.“We look forward to working on other expansion projects in the future,” Thompson said.

Mars also announced a donation of 30,000 pounds of rice to Feeding America and the Mississippi Regional Food Bank, which provide healthy meals to families and individuals who cannot afford them.“It's such a blessing to have access to nutritious food,” said Walter Satterwhite, executive director of the Mississippi Regional Food Bank.Satterwhite said that with the weakening economy and rising food prices, food donations have been scarce lately. “We continue to appreciate everything Mars does,” Satterwhite said. “Mars understood the need and stepped up to help us.”