Mobility allows fresh foods and perishable items
Many in St. Charles Parish don’t have to go hungry thanks to the Second Harvest Food Bank’s Feeding South Louisiana Mobile Food Pantry.
The traveling food truck provides food to 450 households in St. Charles Parish a month, the truck carrying 12,000 pounds of fresh produce and other perishable foods. The mobile pantry hits the road twice a month to feed citizens in St. Charles Parish, making one stop in Boutte and another in Killona.
United Way of St. Charles provides financial backing for the program, providing more than $22,000 a year to maintain the mobile pantry and its viability.
One difference between the mobile food pantry and traditional, non-mobile ones is the former enables Second Harvest to feature fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, poultry and other perishable items, whereas the latter is largely limited to canned goods and non-perishables.
“You see the focus today on eating healthier and the greater awareness we have on its importance,” United Way spokeswoman Melissa Frederick said. “So that’s an advantage it provides.”
Another plus it offers is that it eliminates the need to travel. The pantry delivers to targeted areas based on need and for those who are struggling financially, every bit saved counts.
Frederick said a number of individuals receiving deliveries from the program have indicated they haven’t been deemed eligible to receive any other kind of assistance.
“Speaking personally, I’ve talked to people who are very much trying to earn for their family and make ends meet,” Frederick said. “This can provide them a lift … we live in kind of in a rural area in our parish, so easing that burden of travel makes things easier.”
Lisa Waguespack of Destrehan attests to the program’s effectiveness. Waguespack and her two children were put into a difficult situation.
“Four months ago, my husband, my children’s stepdad, decided he didn’t want to be a stepdad anymore,” Waguespack said. “He told us we needed to leave. I was doing seamstress work, (but) it’s not enough to make enough to provide a home and shelter for you and your family.”
Waguespack and her boys had volunteered in the past with Second Harvest. This time, she turned to them for help. They let her know about the mobile pantry.
“We came out the next time they had an opening,” she said. “It was a blessing … I don’t know where I’d be. It’s a wonderful program and an opportunity for people to help out other people. (After receiving help) and you’re out of that situation, such as the one we’re in, hopefully we can go back and pay back those things.”
Gwen Scott is the coordinator of one mobile pantry site, where volunteers from Mount Airy Baptist Church in Boutte and First Baptist Church in Paradis get the truck ready to roll.
She said her eyes have been opened since she became involved with the program.
“I know I’ve taken for granted that I’ve been blessed,” Scott said. “I never realized how many individuals in our parish were in need of assistance. It’s a real big benefit. I’ve talked to people who have said it’s the difference between them being able to afford their medication.”
Scott said the truck usually reaches its destination by 7 a.m., but often people are lined up before then to ensure they get a meal.
“There are people who come out there faithfully at 5 a.m.,” she said.
Having been both a volunteer and a recipient, Waguespack recognized the great utility of the mobile pantry.
“To see the volume of food that comes in from so many places from people who want to help out … food that would have ultimately gone in the trash because you’re not able to disperse it that fast,” she said. “Now, because you’re able to disperse in so many ways, it doesn’t perish.”
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