Second Harvest Food Bank - Feeding South Louisiana

04/15/2026

Yesterday morning, 12 volunteers packed 768 bags of rice and 252 bags of red beans at our Bayou Distribution Center. Three hours. Done before noon. That food is moving through our network now because they showed up. Thank you!

04/14/2026

Volunteer Fest is coming to all four locations next week. Join us to celebrate the community members who make this work possible.

April 21 — Houma, 12–2 p.m.
April 22 — New Orleans, 1–3 p.m.
April 23 — Lake Charles, 12–2 p.m.
April 24 — Lafayette, 12–2 p.m.

👇Don't miss out! RSVP now, link in comments!

04/13/2026

Since 2013, Matthew 25:35 Food Pantry in Destrehan has shown up every Wednesday for neighbors in St. Charles Parish. More than 400,000 pounds of food a year. Over 125,000 pounds of that recovered straight from retail shelves, fresh, perishable, the stuff people actually need.

But recovering fresh food is only half the work. You still have to move it, store it, and get it out the door before it's gone.

A Walmart Foundation grant recently helped Mary Anne and her team do exactly that, with a new reach-in refrigerator, a reach-in freezer, and a high-lift pallet jack. Before the pallet jack, volunteers unloaded trucks one box at a time. Now one person pulls a full pallet off. "This not only saves us time," Mary Anne said, "but since we are mostly women in the retirement age group, it also saves a lot of our energy."
The cold storage opened up something else too. "We can now store all of the extra perishable food that we pick up from Walmart and other retailers. This allows us to gift things to our clients that we could not always do before now."

And when disaster hits, the pantry's ready. No rented forklifts. No scrambling for equipment. Just the team, doing the job.
Marcus Vise, Second Harvest's coordinator for St. Charles Parish, put it plainly: "The volunteer hours saved don't only mean less strain. These saved hours translate directly into more pickups and more food recovered."

More food. Less strain. Every Wednesday, without fail.

During Fight Hunger. Spark Change., stories like this show how community support helps pantry partners across South Louisiana bring more meals home. You can support that work by making a gift to Second Harvest.

04/08/2026

Before food reaches a pantry shelf, someone has to pick it up, move it safely, and have a place to store it.

Through a Walmart Foundation-supported Retail Agency Capacity Building grant administered through Feeding America, many of Second Harvest’s pantry partners have been able to receive equipment that helps them recover and store more food safely.

Jake, who manages Second Harvest’s food sourcing work, sees that process up close. He works with pantry partners and retail donors to help rescued food move from pickup to pantry, and he knows how quickly limited equipment can slow that work down.

That is why tools like freezers, coolers, thermometers, thermal blankets, pallet jacks, and refrigerated vehicles matter in such a practical way. With the right equipment in place, pantry partners can accept more food, move it more safely, and keep more of it ready for neighbors.

“With the opportunity to increase the amount of food they can store and the amount of food that they can pick up safely,” Jake said, partners can do more for neighbors in their communities.

For some partners, that has meant added freezer and cooler space. For others, it has meant equipment that makes pickups safer, storage more reliable, and distributions more consistent. Each upgrade helps rescued food move more smoothly from pickup to pantry, with less waste along the way.

As Jake put it, when pantry partners have the right equipment, they can “store more food, move it safely, and support neighbors as they bring meals home.”

During Fight Hunger. Spark Change., stories like this show how support from , , and helps strengthen food rescue across our community.

From April 6 through May 3, you can take part in Fight Hunger. Spark Change. by purchasing participating products in-store or online, donating or rounding up at checkout, or giving online through the campaign.

04/07/2026

A big thank you to Michael, Keith, and Richard (Mr. Dickey) Barker, and , for donating a BrightStar ZEVO 600 EV to Second Harvest.

This gift will help us bring meals to children at summer camps and other community programs in the Bayou, and support distribution from our Bayou Community Kitchen when it opens in June!

More than 43,000 people in the Bayou region are experiencing food insecurity. Community support makes this work possible, and we’re grateful for partners who help bring meals closer to home.

Join us in thanking the Barkers for this generous gift. Share this post to celebrate a community partner making a real difference!

Largest charitable anti-hunger network in South Louisiana. Mission to end hunger by providing food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response.

04/06/2026

Fight Hunger. Spark Change. is back, and this year we’re spotlighting what local support can make possible.

Jake, who manages our food sourcing team put it simply, when pantry partners have the right equipment, they can store more food, move it safely, and serve more neighbors.

With support from Walmart through Feeding America , partner organizations in our network have strengthened food storage and distribution in communities across South Louisiana. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be sharing their stories.

From April 6 through May 3, you can join the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign by donating or rounding up at checkout, purchasing participating products, or giving online at feedingamerica.org/Walmart. Donations stay local.

Sam's Club

04/02/2026

Harvest at Home, an annual fundraiser, brings chefs, guests, and supporters together to support Second Harvest’s mission to end hunger across South Louisiana.

Thank you to this year’s hosts, Ayesha and Aaron Motwani, and co-chairs Elizabeth and Clifton LeBlanc, and Aimee and West Freeman, and all our of longtime supporters for helping make our New Orleans Harvest at Home so special.

A special thank you to featured chef Maggie Scales of La Boulangerie, our participating chefs and restaurant partners, and our Second Harvest chefs, Chef Michael McGuire and Chef Ishman Boles Jr., for sharing your talent and generosity.

We also appreciate the community leaders who joined us for the evening, including Archbishop Checchio.

Commander's Palace
MISTER MAO
Vals


Rosedale Restaurant
Zasu
Herbsaint Restaurant

We are grateful to everyone who helped make this evening possible.

Photos by The Red M Studio

04/01/2026

“This was the best day ever!”

Hearing that from one of the kids at the Little Grocers’ Market our Makin' Groceries team hosted at Grolee Elementary in Opelousas said it all. For some of these students, this may have been one of their only chances to access fresh produce—and that makes it even more meaningful.

We served 135 Pre-K students who "made groceries" using rainbow bucks to purchase fruits and veggies like apples, bananas, snap peas, and carrots (with a little ranch on the side 😉). Each child left with fresh produce, a tote bag, and fun, healthy goodies and information.

A huge thank you to Opelousas General Health System for showing up strong with 15 amazing volunteers, and to our Initiative for making this possible!

03/30/2026

Tune in to with Darla Montgomery KADN News 15 today at noon on News15 as Kristen Wesley (Second Harvest) and Monette Bourque (Healthy Blue) talk about the Makin’ Groceries Mobile Market and the powerful partnership bringing fresh food directly to communities.

Don’t miss this inspiring conversation!

03/26/2026

In St. Landry Parish, one of Louisiana's largest rural parishes, healthy food isn’t always just around the corner.

For more than 15,000 food-insecure neighbors, accessing healthy food can mean long drives, high costs, or simply not enough healthy options nearby. That’s why the Makin’ Groceries Mobile Market matters — it brings food directly into rural communities.

Now, thanks to a generous $100,000 sponsorship from Healthy Blue, the Mobile Market can roll into even more communities across St. Landry Parish!

This sponsorship will support food, staffing, transportation, nutrition education, and other essentials that'll help the Mobile Market reach more neighbors that need it most.

Yesterday, we celebrated this amazing gift at Opelousas General Health System (in St. Landry Parish), proving that hope can show up on four wheels.

But even more...it reflects Healthy Blue’s deep commitment to improving lives and sustainably advancing the future of health across Louisiana. And we’re incredibly grateful to partner with an organization that’s not just talking about healthier communities — they’re helping build them!

To find the next Mobile Market in St. Landry Parish—and other communities across South Louisiana— visit no-hunger.org/mobilemarket

03/25/2026

🚨 Event Update: Mobile Market Postponed 🚨

The Makin’ Groceries Mobile Market scheduled for Saturday, March 28th has been postponed.

We look forward to seeing you next month in Calcasieu Parish! Join us on:

📅 April 25th
📍 United Christian Fellowship
2900 Opelousas St, Lake Charles
⏰ 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. We can’t wait to serve you soon! 💚

03/25/2026

Healthy Blue + Second Harvest = Makin’ Groceries!