Entergy donates $25,000 to local food bank

Entergy donated $25,000 to Terrebonne Churches United (TCU) Food Bank for a walk-in freezer. 

Entergy executives and local and state government officials visited the food bank, located at 922 Sunset Ave. in Houma, on Friday for the check presentation.

Lawrence DeHart, Executive Director of the TCU Food Bank, said the new unit helps the organization in several aspects. 

“It allows me…to get larger quantities of food on hand in amounts that I can better afford so we can continue to be here,” he said. “In addition to that, in times of disasters, it allows me to have proper storage on hand to handle the large volumes we know we are going to get.” 

DeHart went on to say that the freezer helps the food bank add two more programs that the facility couldn’t handle before and lets it receive large quantities of orders from new vendors. 

“This probably actually saves me over $100,000 a year so I can better serve,” he said. 

DeHart said Entergy is a longtime supporter of the food bank. 

“An organization like this is so important to helping those in need,” said Phillip May, President and CEO of Entergy Louisiana. “Being able to make a contribution to an organization that has such success in helping those in need is something we’re really excited about.” 

With a state grant of $100,000, TCU was able to purchase its first permanent facility. After over 30 years of serving the community, it transitioned from a 2,800-square-foot building to a 6,800-square-foot facility in February of this year. 

Louisiana State Representative Beryl Amedée and her husband, Terrebonne Parish Councilman John Amedée, toured TCU’s new home for the first time on Friday.

“I think it’s beautiful,” Beryl said. “It’s so well-organized, and it looks like they are set to be efficient. I’m impressed.” 

“It’s set up in a very practical manner so that it works. Everything flows,” John added. “And the whole deal of the food bank is it’s a centralized place where everybody can come, so they know if you need help, send them there. They’re not scrambling around trying to find something because you can waste a lot of your day trying to find resources.”

The food bank needed the expansion, too. In 2020, with increased demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic and active hurricane season, TCU distributed 2.4 million pounds of food, serving 21,000 people. 

“We have a lot of people in Terrebonne Parish who have needs on a regular basis,” Beryl said. “But what’s important about a food bank is we have to remember that we live in an area where there are often natural disasters, especially hurricanes, and because of that, you never know who’s going to need help tomorrow. And sometimes it might be you.” 

Donations to the Terrebonne Churches United Food Bank can be made at https://tcufoodbank.org/. 

“We want to commend Entergy for seeing the need and helping to meet it,” Beryl said. “And we want to encourage other organizations — or even individuals — to contribute. This is a really good investment.”