New Orleans food pantry braces for "very challenging summer"
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With kids out of school, south Louisiana's largest food pantry is "bracing for what's going to be a very challenging summer," says Second Harvest Food Bank chief impact officer Lindsay Hendrix.
The big picture: Kids will likely go hungry this summer in New Orleans and elsewhere amid national cutbacks at the USDA, rising food costs and a safety net that can't quite catch everyone who falls toward it.
Catch up quick: In March, the USDA canceled more than $1 billion in federal spending that bought food from local producers and shipped it to schools and food banks, Politico reported.
- And food prices have been up since the coronavirus pandemic, which squeezes budgets for families and food suppliers.
- Plus, when kids are let out of school, they no longer have access to free or reduced-price lunches five days a week.
By the numbers: In Louisiana, 448,000 students, or 62.4% overall, had access to free or reduced lunch for the 2022-2023 school year, National Center for Education Statistics data shows.
- But once the summer hits, Hendrix says, only 8% of those kids receive meals.
- "That other 92%, it's hard for us to reach them," she says.
Between the lines: Gov. Jeff Landry's administration did opt the state back into the summer food stamp program known as SUN Bucks. He was hesitant to do so in 2024, but enrollment this year seemed to happen without incident.
Yes, but: The program only offers families a one-time payment of $120 per eligible child.
- "We know you can't make a meal every day for that sum, so there's still a gap," Hendrix says. "These programs are designed to be supplemental but that piece — cobbling together accessing different kinds of programs — is unfortunately a real occurrence for a lot of our families with kids."
What's next: As a short-term measure, Hendrix says, Second Harvest has dipped into its reserves to help make ends meet, "but money for food only goes so far, even at wholesale prices."
- The food bank, which serves the whole of South Louisiana, is also leaning on its food pantry partners and network while increasing the number of staffers it has dedicated to finding donated food sources. But those jobs will take some time to produce results, Hendrix says.
The bottom line: "The unfortunate reality is we will just have less to go around," Hendrix says.
How to help
If you can give money, great. And there are other ways to help:
- Volunteer at the Second Harvest Food Bank or other food pantries in your area. You can also drive with Toups' Family Meal.
- Package leftovers, water bottles and other snacks to leave behind in a neighborhood pantry or fridge. Locations.
- Donate money to Community Fridges, Toups' Family Meal, the Second Harvest or other pantry locations.