Our COVID-19 response so far

HOW YOU CAN HELP and GET HELP: Click here for info about all the ways you can help our response, including monetary donations.

The Need

Thousands of our neighbors are food insecure, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic and extended school and business shutdowns, the need is overwhelming and increasing to levels we have rarely seen before.  Hundreds of thousands of Louisianans have filed unemployment claims since March, and many of them are seeking emergency food assistance for the first time.

We estimate that the immediate need for food has increased by more than 50%. We are also facing the reality that our response will go on for months and the economic impacts could last for long after the pandemic subsides.

Second Harvest’s Response

• We have distributed 50% more food compared to the same period last year, and, in some of the hardest hit areas, more than doubled the amount of food provided to people in need.
• We are continuing to distribute food through our network of hundreds of local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, churches, and other nonprofits across our 23-parish service area, many of whom have seen a surge in need from regular clients, as well as those seeking help for the first time.
• We have ramped up meal production in our Community Kitchen by adding shifts and increasing the number of prepared meals from 1,000 per day to 10,000 per day. Hot and frozen meals are delivered daily to seniors and children.
• Thanks to the very generous support of Drew and Brittany Brees, we have opened a second kitchen in Lafayette, providing more than a thousand hot meals a day to families, the homeless, and others in need.
• We have worked with partners to set up drive-through emergency food distributions in high-need areas and to serve people impacted by the pandemic such as service industry and gig workers.
• With the help of National Guard and other partners, Second Harvest has tripled the number of volunteer hours, despite the cancellations by some school and corporate volunteer groups.

Thank You for Your Support

We are tremendously grateful to everyone who has generously provided financial contributions, food donations, and/or volunteer time.  Fighting hunger, especially during the COVID-19 emergency, is a community-wide effort.

Your support is needed more than ever before as we meet this overwhelming need and continue to respond to the everyday disaster of hunger.  Thank you for helping Second Harvest serve our South Louisiana community during this unprecedented time.