You Help Neighbors Like Ann
When Ann retired, her schedule was set; take care of her house, tend to her garden, and go fishing.
“It’s a lot of work,” she joked.
Ann retired from working in the records department at St. Francis Medical Center and lives a quiet life with her husband in the small town of Columbia. Everything was going according to plan until living expenses and the cost of groceries shot up.
Living on a low, fixed income, Ann struggled to afford her bills and purchase the groceries she needed. Looking for relief, she decided to turn to the Food Bank for food assistance.
“I had a low income, groceries were high, and we needed help,” she explained.
Ann joined the Food Bank’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and now receives groceries each month. Since she joined the program, she’s been able to save money at the grocery store by using the food she receives from the Food Bank to make casseroles and what she calls, “country cooking.”
“The Food Bank helped when I needed it,” said Ann.
Thank you for ensuring that our neighbors like Ann have food on their tables.
Your Support Means Local Families are Fed
When Ann retired, her schedule was set; For Tracey Copeland and the volunteers at the Apostolic Restoration Church food pantry, being able to provide food to their neighbors is an opportunity to live out their faith. care of her house, tend to her garden, and go fishing.
“Feeding people is a passion of mine. It’s important to me and to everyone here,” Tracey said.
The Apostolic Restoration Church food pantry (The ARC) hosts a monthly distribution and provides groceries to about 260 people each month in the West Monroe community.
“It seems like the families we serve are being hit hard,” Tracey told us. “Whenever you see people in need, especially children, it just does something to you.”
Each volunteer at the ARC shares the same passion for helping others. The day before their distribution, ARC volunteers will spend multiple hours bagging food and sorting fresh produce and proteins they receive from the Food Bank.
When you make a gift to the Food Bank, your support helps stock the shelves of 60 food pantries across Northeast Louisiana. Your compassion helps families get the food they need to have a meal with their loved ones!
You Give Local Children Food & Hope
Many families in our community live paycheck to paycheck and have to make sacrifices, often impacting the amount of food they can afford. The Food Bank’s BackPack Program provides kids easy-to-prepare food to take home on weekends and school vacations when other resources are not available.
“There was a student at our school whose family fell into hard times right after the holiday season,” said a local school administer. “A teacher alerted me to this and told me the student may benefit from the BackPack Program. When I gave her a bag to take home, she immediately got a smile on her face and gave me a big hug.”
During the school year, BackPacks are provided to over 1,000 students across Ouachita, Jackson, and Lincoln Parish. Volunteers deliver bags of food to schools on Thursdays, and school staff hand them out to students on Fridays to take home.
“The best part about getting a BackPack is I do not go hungry,” said a child in the program.
When children are well-nourished, they have the energy to play, the focus to learn, and are able to grow and thrive.
“I am very proud to be a part of the BackPack Program and grateful it exists to help our students,” another school administrator told us.
Organizations that Feed Our Community
Thanks to these generous organizations who have partnered with us at the $2,500 level or greater from May – July 2025.
Aerie Real Foundation
Amcor Cares Foundation
ConAgra
Costco
Enterprise Mobility Foundation
Feeding America
MGM Development Group
Morgan Stanley Foundation
Nutrien Ag Solutions
United Way of Northeast Louisiana
Walmart
Smart Giving Made Simple
The Food Bank now offers several tax-smart giving options to make a difference for our neighbors facing hunger. Consider a gift of:
- Stocks
- Donor Advised Funds
- Qualified Charitable Distributions from an IRA
- Charitable Gift Annuities
Last year, over 458,000 meals were made possible in our community through generous supporters who gave through one of these tax-smart options.
Change lives by supporting the Food Bank’s work to end hunger. Visit foodbanknela.org/legacysociety to find the charitable gift that’s right for you. Use our free gift illustrator tool to calculate deductions, tax savings, and other benefits — instantly!
Thank you for helping us nourish our neighbors today and creating a stronger, healthier community for the future.
