Mission: In late 2009 the Louisiana State Government cut Food Bank financing by 4.5 million dollars. As a small food pantry this blog was created to spotlight our community and show the direct effects from such a harsh budget cut.

We work at the Community Center of St Bernard, a food pantry and Community Center 10 minutes outside of New Orleans. We feed around 70 families a day and the number of new people we serve keeps growing. The spiraling economy coupled with the state budget cut to Second Harvest has created empty shelves for needy families.

More people + less food = a big problem.

Bethany Garfield

Food Pantry Coordinator

Billy Brown

Digital Arts Service Corps (AmeriCorps for Geeks)

The following organizations are all collecting food for our pantry to supplement the reduction from our local food bank. We love them!

Nola Eats at the Alternative Media Expo

Snake and Jakes

Cold Stone Creamery

Organizing for America: LA

Curves

Do you want to be a Fabulous Food Driver? E-mail me!

Food For Our Neighbors Archives

    March 22, 2010
    Health Care, Medicaid, and the Hungry When talking (arguing) about health care reform, please take a moment to think about the people who visit food pantries and what kind of health care they need. Since all of our clients are already struggling with food insecurity, it’s almost inconceivable to imagine them paying off high medical bills, which many of them have. What about Medicaid, you ask? Only 33% of our clients receive Medicaid, which leaves 67% uncovered. For some of our clients, the major reason they have to go to a food pantry is because of their medical bills. Just last week, a couple in this situation signed up to receive food. The husband didn’t have a job when he came back after the storm, and without an employer to provide health insurance, he was left with huge medical bills - forcing him and his family to visit our food pantry so his family can afford these bills, along with the cost of living. Here at the Community Center, we are able to provide very limited health care through St Anna’s Medical Mission (pictured), which provides free blood pressure testing, cholesterol testing and basic medical advice to our clients. It’s a start, but it isn’t enough. (inspired by Vicki Escarra’s article on Huffington Post)

    Health Care, Medicaid, and the Hungry

    When talking (arguing) about health care reform, please take a moment to think about the people who visit food pantries and what kind of health care they need. Since all of our clients are already struggling with food insecurity, it’s almost inconceivable to imagine them paying off high medical bills, which many of them have. What about Medicaid, you ask? Only 33% of our clients receive Medicaid, which leaves 67% uncovered.

    For some of our clients, the major reason they have to go to a food pantry is because of their medical bills. Just last week, a couple in this situation signed up to receive food. The husband didn’t have a job when he came back after the storm, and without an employer to provide health insurance, he was left with huge medical bills - forcing him and his family to visit our food pantry so his family can afford these bills, along with the cost of living.

    Here at the Community Center, we are able to provide very limited health care through St Anna’s Medical Mission (pictured), which provides free blood pressure testing, cholesterol testing and basic medical advice to our clients. It’s a start, but it isn’t enough.

    (inspired by Vicki Escarra’s article on Huffington Post)

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