2026 Summer Newsletter

Together, We’re Supporting Seniors in Need

Vanessa is one of the Food Bank’s newest volunteers, but her connection to our mission goes deeper than volunteering. As a loving mother of three, she understands firsthand the impact a helping hand can make.

Last Thanksgiving, Vanessa’s family found themselves in a difficult situation. Needing help, she visited one of the Food Bank’s Community Partner food pantries and was able to receive enough groceries to prepare a holiday meal for her family.

“It filled up my fridge. I was so happy and thankful,” Vanessa said. “I couldn’t have made it through Thanksgiving without the Food Bank.”

At first, Vanessa was hesitant to visit a food pantry, fearing she would be judged. Instead, she was met with kindness and compassion.

“Everyone was professional,” she said. “It made me want to love other people better.”

That experience inspired Vanessa to give back. She signed up to volunteer with the Food Bank and was excited to help others in our community.

“When people give, it inspires other people to give,” she said.

Vanessa has a passion for learning and is currently pursuing a degree in Business Technology at Louisiana Delta Community College. Vanessa shared that as a mother, she hopes to encourage her children to become the best versions of themselves and to always lead with kindness and compassion.

Together, We’re Supporting Seniors in Need

When this year’s winter storm brought our region to a halt, our community responded with incredible generosity and compassion. Thanks to your support, the Food Bank of Northeast Louisiana mobilized quickly to provide emergency food assistance to thousands of families and individuals recovering from the storm.

Because of you, an incredible 195,000 pounds of food was distributed during our disaster response, in addition to our regular distributions. This included frozen chicken, fresh potatoes and onions, nonperishable staple foods, and bottled water — critical resources for households facing power outages, damaged homes, and lowest wages.

Your compassion ensured that no one had to question where their next meal would come from. As one neighbor shared, “The Food Bank can make the difference between someone eating or not eating.”

Thank you for being that difference.

Moments like this remind us how strong our community truly is. Your generosity ensures that families have nourishment, children have stability, and seniors are not left behind. We are deeply grateful for the way you continue to stand with us — and with one another — when it matters most.

Greek Week Gives Back in a Big Way

Students at Louisiana Tech University turned a friendly competition into an incredible act of service during this year’s Greek Week.

As part of Greek Week, sororities and fraternities across campus compete in a challenge that tests both spirit and teamwork. Often, this includes a philanthropy event benefiting a local nonprofit, and this year they chose to host a food drive benefitting the Food Bank.

What began as a fun rivalry quickly grew into one of the largest Food Bank food drives in recent years!

For one week, students flooded local grocery stores, purchasing canned goods to donate. By the end of the competition, the students had collected more than 33,000 pounds of food!

“It was honestly such a rewarding experience for me and everyone involved,” said Carlie Campbell, Director of Philanthropy for Louisiana Tech Panhellenic. “Seeing all of our students come together to support the Food Bank, and knowing we could make a real impact in our community meant so much to us.”

The students’ generosity and dedication will help provide thousands of meals to families across Northeast Louisiana.

We want to extend a heartfelt “thank you” to Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Delta, Phi Mu, and Sigma Kappa for making such a meaningful difference in our community.

Thank You, Volunteers!

During National Volunteer Month, we were reminded that we really do have some of the best volunteers in the world!

Tens of thousands of people in Northeast Louisiana receive help each month through our network of hunger-relief programs, and it all starts with the volunteers who show up each day to do “jobs” that are not always easy.

We are deeply grateful to each of you who takes time out of your day to volunteer with us. Your dedication helps provide nourishment and compassion to our neighbors across Northeast Louisiana.

See how you can help by visiting foodbanknela.org today.

Organizations That Feed Our Community

Thanks to these generous organizations who have partnered with us at the $2,500 level or greater from January – April 2026. 

 

Aetna by CVS Health

AT&T

Chartis

CoBank

Entergy Louisiana

Hopkins Dermatology

Lincoln Health Foundation

Living Well Foundation

Louisiana Blue Foundation

Mortenson 

New Orleans Saints / New Orleans Pelicans

United Way of Northeast Louisiana

Walmart

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