First Friday Memo - March 2026
From the desk of Jayne Wright-Velez, Executive Director
The Food Bank of Central Louisiana
March 2026 / Issue 193
20 Dollars No Longer Provides 100 Meals
If you’ve been connected with the Food Bank of Central Louisiana for a while, you’ve seen statements like, “$1 provides five meals” or “Every $20 helps us provide 100 meals.” And it was true for a long time – it used to cost our food bank just about 20 cents for every meal provided. Well, it’s sad to say that simply isn’t true anymore.
Higher prices, tariffs, extreme weather, and supply chain issues have impacted food production, driving up expenses for food producers. Corporate food donations are becoming smaller and less frequent as their costs rise. At the same time, budget cuts at the USDA have reduced the amount of food sent to food banks to feed low-income families. In 2025, the Food Bank of Central Louisiana had to purchase more food than ever before to make up for millions of pounds in cancelled food donations.
Everyone knows that the price of food has risen. But other costs that impact food bank operations have also been on the rise, including transportation, utilities, materials, and just about everything else that goes into sourcing, acquiring, moving, storing, sorting, packing and distributing food. When we crunched the numbers this time, we found that it now costs our food bank more than twice what it used to – about 44 cents – to provide the equivalent of one meal (about 1.2 pounds of food) to a food-insecure neighbor.
Your continued support is more important than ever as we work together to ensure no one in our community goes without a meal.
Olive Garden Awards the Food Bank a Grant of $5,000
Olive Garden is committed to supporting its communities in the fight against hunger. Every one of their 900+ restaurants participates in their Harvest program, donating high-quality, wholesome food to local nonprofit partners. They’re also long-term partners with Feeding America®, and since 2017, the Darden Foundation, the charitable arm of the parent company, has donated more than $16.3 million on behalf of their family of restaurants to support Feeding America member food banks across all 50 states.
Join Louisiana Restaurant Association for Taste of Central Louisiana
The Louisiana Restaurant Association Cenla Chapter will present Taste of Central Louisiana, a reimagined version of their signature Taste of Mardi Gras fundraiser, taking place Saturday, March 7, 2026, at the Randolph Riverfront Center. This spring, attendees will experience all the great food, drinks, and fun they’ve come to love with a fresh new seasonal twist. Register for the event here: https://tinyurl.com/TasteCenla.
Sodexo Foundation Supports the BackPack Program
The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation has partnered this year with the Congressional Hunger Center to reach organizations in need of support. The partnership has selected the Food Bank of Central to receive a $1,000 grant to support the Backpack Program for children. The Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation is an independent charitable organization with a vision to be changemakers for a sustainable, hunger-free world. Founded in 1993 by a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, the Congressional Hunger Center is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to the principle that access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate food is a basic human right.
We’re happy to connect with our community!
The Food Bank of Central Louisiana offers engaging speakers for civic groups, churches, schools, and business meetings to share more about our mission and the realities of food insecurity across Central Louisiana. If your group would like to learn how we’re working together to fight hunger—and how you can help—contact us to schedule a presentation. Email Linda Hutson at lhutson@fbcenla.org.
Saints Fans Step Up to Fight Hunger
The Saints and Pelicans Gulf Coast Foundation had an incredible 50/50 Raffle Season! Thanks to the passion and support of dedicated fans who truly appreciate the incredible work done by organizations in their communities, approximately $483K was donated back to the Saints territory community! The Feeding Louisiana network of five food banks across the state were beneficiaries of this fundraising effort. The Food Bank of Central Louisiana was awarded $24,051.03 at a check presentation event on January 23 in Ochsner Sports Performance Center. Thanks to all the fans who donated!
We’d Love to Hear From You!
If you have a moment, please scan the QR code and share why you donate to the Food Bank of Central Louisiana. If you’d rather complete the survey by mail, please call Carrie at 318-445-2773 to request a paper form.
