Press Release: Catholic Charities of Acadiana develops 7 Day Staples Project to assist partner food pantries

Catholic Charities of Acadiana is launching the 7 Day Staples Project as a response to assist its partner food pantries during this health crisis. This new endeavor will allow the community to sponsor a seven day supply of supplemental food sourced by a local grocer for a local individual who is experiencing food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 7 Day Staples Project will operate through FoodNet Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities of Acadiana.

Through regular contact with partner food pantries throughout the 8 parishes that encompass the Diocese of Lafayette, Catholic Charities of Acadiana has discovered a pressing need in a few key areas where local food pantry clients have been identified though access to clients has been limited.

“We believe that access to food is a basic human right, no matter what the circumstances” said Ben Broussard, Chief Communications Officer for Catholic Charities of Acadiana. “Through our conversations with partner pantries throughout Acadiana, we are discovering pressing needs where access to food has been limited. The 7 Day Staples Project aims to directly address the food needs in these key areas today while setting the stage as needs inevitably arise in the future.”

The community is invited to donate to FoodNet Food Bank by clicking here. Each $35 donation provides food for one 7 day staples package. Food for this project is being sourced from a wholesale partnership with Adrien’s Supermarket and from Second Harvest Food Bank. Catholic Charities of Acadiana will then arrange volunteers to provide doorstep, contactless delivery of the food to clients households along a prepared route, all while maintaining safety protocol for both client and volunteer.

Catholic Charities of Acadiana cares for the sacred gift of all human life, especially the most vulnerable. CCA operates several programs that serve those who are currently experiencing homelessness, hunger and poverty in Acadiana. Since 1973, its programs have represented a response to the Gospel call to carry out the corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, offering hospitality to the homeless, caring for the sick, visiting the imprisoned and burying the dead.