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Food banks across the country are undoubtedly busy during the holiday season, but food banks in Louisiana and along the Gulf and East coasts have a second busy season – hurricane season.
“We were busy before and after the hurricane, but it slacked off,” said Food Bank of Terrebonne Churches manager Reynold Pitre. “Things are just beginning to pick back up. We are currently fully stocked, thanks to a $10,000 donation from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana. We bought nothing but groceries with the money.”
The food bank, which opened in May of 1987 and has more than 50 volunteers, was one of several local food banks in Southeast Louisiana to receive funds through Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans after the organization received a $50,000 donation from BHP Billiton Petroleum.
“We are happy to be able to offer assistance to the good people of Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes,” said BHP Billiton Petroleum Chief Executive J. Michael Yeager in a printed statement. “Many of our employees who work offshore live in these areas and we wanted to provide any assistance that we could and we knew Second Harvest Food Bank would be able to respond quickly.”
“We are so thankful to BHP Billiton Petroleum for being the first to call Second Harvest Food Bank with a donation to help communities in need after the storm,” said Second Harvest Food Bank president and CEO Natalie Jayroe in a printed statement. “Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes have received over 223,600 pounds of food, water, ice and cleaning supplies since August 31.”
In addition to making donations to food banks, Second Harvest Food Bank also delivered food, water, ice and cleaning supplies to the impacted areas to help families in need. Since the storm, Second Harvest Food Bank has given out 1.5 million pounds of those items to areas affected by the hurricane.
In Lafourche Parish, the Raceland Food Bank is staying well-stocked thanks to the help of local churches and food drives.
“We recently received food donations from the St. Mary Grandparent’s Drive and the Bayou Blue Presbyterian Church,” said manager Melodia Benoit. “We are well stocked.”
Like the Food Banks of Terrebonne Churches, the Raceland Food Bank, which assists about 45 cases a month, also experienced an influx of families seeking extra groceries just before and right after the storm.
“People were coming in here to get things that would not go bad because they didn’t have power,” Benoit said. “They wanted lots of peanut butter and potted meat. We were pretty busy after the storm until people got disaster food stamps.”
Even though the holiday seasons are usually the busiest time of the year for food banks, such is not the case at the Raceland Food Bank, which has been open for more than 30 years.
“Our busiest time is during the summer,” she said. “Children are out of school and not getting those school meals. They are eating at home, and families are running out of food stamps quicker. They come here to get more food to get through the rest of the month.”
Volunteers Larry Bland, left, and Barbara “Sgt. Carter” Price load food boxes at the Food Bank of Terrebonne Churches. The food bank recently received a $10,000 donation from BHP Billiton Petroleum, through Second Harvest Food Bank, to help families in need after Hurricane Isaac.
