Delivering the Goods

Second Harvest Food Bank offers more than food for sustenance; it gives hope for rebuilding New Orleans.

Sharp, loud beeps signal a forklift backing up in the warehouse. The woman driving the machine smiles as she deftly maneuvers a palette of stacked boxes onto a shelf. In the buzz of activity, nothing seems remarkable or different. Yet the work that takes place here impacts thousands.

With just a handful of employees, the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana distributes food and other household commodities free of charge to nonprofits and faith-based groups. Acting as a go-between, the nonprofit organization receives food donations from manufacturers, growers, restaurants, hotels, vendors, and other sources and then distributes these goods to their recipients. After Hurricane Katrina, its mission became even more important.

Packaging Hope

Numbers drive this story. Since August 29th when the hurricane made landfall, Second Harvest has distributed more than 42 million pounds of food and other products. Compare this number to the totals for all of 2004-14 million.

"You take that number and multiply that by a $1.50," says Natalie Jayroe, president and CEO of Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans, "which is what a pound of food is typically worth in a food bank. That gives you the value of services we are putting into the area."

Working Together

Pre-Katrina, Second Harvest served 300 nonprofit organizations. This number dropped significantly after the storm, yet the amount of food needed by the surviving agencies actually increased.

Within 48 hours after Katrina, Second Harvest was operating from a location near Baton Rouge. "Several members of our staff lost their homes, and yet we were at work," Natalie says. Eventually, the food bank moved back to its headquarters, which received little damage.

From the beginning of the crisis, Second Harvest looked to its sister organizations (members of America's Second Harvest National Food Bank Network) for assistance. This invaluable alliance brought in volunteers, food sources, and money in the months following the disaster. The help continues today in countless ways. -SARA ASKEW JONES

Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana: (504) 734-1322 or www.no-hunger.org.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jul 2006
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