Second Harvest Food Bank presents
A dinner series held by invitation in private homes across South Louisiana, cooked by the region’s chefs.
What is Harvest at Home?
Harvest at Home is an evening that raises support for Second Harvest Food Bank. A host family opens their home. Local chefs cook. Guests come together to help end hunger in South Louisiana.
It started in New Orleans in 2010. Today it takes place in four regions: New Orleans, Acadiana, Lake Charles, and the Bayou.
Each evening is small, because each home can only seat so many guests. Every seat helps neighbors across 23 parishes bring meals home.
It starts with one ingredient
In New Orleans, the Featured Chef chooses a single fruit or vegetable, one Harvest at Home has never featured before.
Every chef cooking that night builds a dish around it. Guests find it at each station, prepared a different way every time, from the first small plate to dessert.
The 2026 ingredient was the strawberry.
Chefs who have cooked for Harvest at Home New Orleans
- Donald Link
- Susan Spicer
- Nina Compton
- Frank Brigtsen
- Tory McPhail
- Rebecca Wilcomb
- Sue Zemanick
- Maggie Scales
Four regions, one table
Harvest at Home New Orleans
The original. Guests move between chef stations in the house and garden, and every dish features the year’s chosen ingredient.
Harvest at Home Acadiana
Since 2014, a seated dinner in a home in the Lafayette area, with a menu by a featured Acadiana chef.
Harvest at Home Lake Charles
One of our two newest, serving Southwest Louisiana. A Patron Happy Hour, then a seated dinner by local chefs.
Harvest at Home Bayou
One of our two newest, hosted in a private home in the Bayou region. A cocktail hour, then a seated dinner with a featured chef and a featured ingredient.
Take your place at the table
Harvest at Home is by invitation. Guests join as patrons or sponsors, and seating at each home is limited. If you would like to be considered for an invitation, or to sponsor an evening in your region, we would be glad to hear from you.
Patron levels take their names from a restaurant kitchen: Sous Chef, Chef de Cuisine, Executive Chef, and Master Chef.
Shelly Melton
Event Coordinator, Second Harvest Food Bank
504-487-7733
smelton@no-hunger.org
Not able to join us this year? A gift of any size supports the same work.
Questions about Harvest at Home
Is Harvest at Home open to the public?
Harvest at Home is an invitation-only evening for patrons and sponsors of Second Harvest Food Bank. To be considered, contact Shelly Melton at 504-487-7733.
Where is Harvest at Home held?
Each evening is hosted in a private home in New Orleans, Acadiana, Lake Charles, or the Bayou region. Guests receive the details with their invitation.
How do I sponsor Harvest at Home?
Sponsorships include seats for the evening and vary by region. Shelly Melton can walk you through the levels for your area.
Who does Harvest at Home support?
Proceeds support Second Harvest Food Bank’s work to end hunger in South Louisiana, where 1 in 5 people experience hunger.