Volunteers from Kroger, Bolton Ford and Kappa Alpha Psi made quick work of bagging groceries for the food insecure Thursday at the new Second Harvest warehouse in Lake Charles and the City of Lake Charles proclaimed September 2024 Hunger Action Month.

Dennis Stine, on the board for Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans & Acadiana described the event as a sort of “coming out” party for Second Harvest which has been operating in the Lake Charles Area for the last 40 years. The new warehouse means food, including fresh vegetables, less travel time from outlying areas to meet the needs of Southwest Louisiana. Less fuel and less time means a more efficient operation.     

“We’re increasing our capacity so that we can do even more in Southwest Louisiana,” Stine said. “This warehouse represents that ability to do more capacity. We also have some other things that we’ll talk about in the future we’re planning to do for Southwest Louisiana.”

Second Harvest supports 24 food pantries in the area. The food bagged Thursday will go to one of the Lake Charles pantries.

Four millions pounds of food is delivered by Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans & Acadiana each year.  Not one pound of food is ever delivered without it being touched by a volunteer, said Paul Scelfo, Second Harvest Chief Regional Officer.

“The bandwidth of our capacity to put that kind of food out to the public is extended with people like Kroger who come out and say, yes, we can put a team together and help. If we had to pay a wage for all the people who help us through volunteering, we would have to increase our payroll by over $1.2 million.”

“Kroger has a Zero Hunger, Zero Waste initiative,” according to Jordan Scruggs, one of the Kroger employees there to help.

Kim Dellafosse, assistant administrator for the City of Lake Charles proclaimed September 2024 Hunger Action Month with the reminder that ”the fight against hunger requires engaging a wide range of public and private entities, including policy makers, business leaders, food banks, community organizations and concerned citizens.”