U.S. Attorney’s Office contributes to local food pantries through Feds Feed Families drive

SHREVEPORT/LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Shreveport and Lafayette collected more than 275 pounds of food and non-perishable items this week that were delivered to two local food pantries.

In all, federal employees contributed 275 pounds of food to the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana in Shreveport and the FoodNet: The Greater Acadiana Food Bank, in Lafayette. The Shreveport U.S. Attorney’s Office gathered 118 pounds of the total and the Lafayette U.S. Attorney’s Office gathered 157 pounds. Donation boxes for the Feds Feed Families food drive campaign were located at the federal courthouses in Shreveport and Lafayette.  The food drive campaign ended October 2, 2015.

“This food drive campaign is our way of giving back to those most in need in our communities,” Finley said.  “Food pantries need help throughout the year and not just during the holidays. Feds Feed Families assists by being there to donate food during the summer before the holiday season begins. I want to thank all federal employees in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Courts and other agencies that donated food, time and other resources to make this possible.”

The Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana began in 1995 when a group of individuals from churches with food pantries and benevolent organizations met to discuss the need to establish a local food bank to serve the parishes of Northwest Louisiana. The Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana is the largest distributor of donated food for the seven-parish area and is one of only five food banks in the state. They sort, warehouse and distribute food to more than 120 non-profit organizations in the seven-parish region, which includes: Caddo, Bossier, Bienville, Claiborne, Desoto, Red River, and Webster parishes. For more information about the Food Bank of Northwest Louisiana, visit their website at www.foodbanknla.org or call (318) 675-2400.

FoodNet: The Greater Acadiana Food Bank, a non-profit food bank serving Lafayette Parish, was established in October 1987.  FoodNet has distributed tens of thousands of tons of food since opening, and presently serves several agencies including: Faith House of Acadiana women’s shelter, the Children’s Shelter, St. Joseph Shelter for Men, Acadiana Youth Shelter for Girls, St. Joseph Diner, the Red Cross, Alleman Center, Acadiana Cares, St. Francis Foundation for Substance Abuse, and the Arc.  For more information, visit www.foodnetacadiana.org or call (337) 232-3663.

In the United States, 50 million people are challenged with hunger, including 17 million children. Feds Feed Families was started when Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and former Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry realized that food donations were dropping during the summer months because many families were on vacation.  The campaign has run every summer since 2009, and to date, it has collected more than 39 million pounds of food, including 14.8 million pounds last year alone. The Department of Justice has contributed more than 73,425 pounds to food banks across the country.

For more information visit www.usda.gov/fedsfeedfamilies or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Louisiana, at 337-262-6618.