Ninth Baptist Church holds food distribution through Second Harvest

The Ninth Baptist Church of Ville Platte, in cooperation with Second Harvest Food Bank, handed out food distribution boxes Saturday, May 2 and Tuesday, May 5. Usually, the boxes are handed out on the second Saturday of the month, but because that date was going to be on Mother’s Day weekend, they moved the date to the first Saturday of the month. Doing so caused a somewhat lower turnout, so they added a second day, Tuesday, for distribution.
Church pastor, Rev. Darwan Lazard, said in this time of need, “I feel as though we are doing what Jesus talked about in Matthew, chapter 25, specifically verses 35-40, where he said, ‘When I was hungry, you fed me. What so you have done to the least of these, my brothers, you have done unto me.’ We’re just trying to help out, trying to serve the Evangeline Parish community, trying to be a help up to the people during this pandemic, and even at other times during the year we do this type of ministry.” He thanked coordinator Phyllis Green and the volunteers. “They mean so much to me and our church and to the community.”
Green’s role as a coordinator requires her to keep in contact with other coordinators with Second Harvest Food Bank. She also makes sure to keep the food safe for its recipients. Green said SNAP recipients automatically qualify for the food boxes. Under normal circumstances there is an income verification application to fill out to receive food, but because of COVID-19, the rules changed to require just names and ages. Once a month, Green puts a report together and sends it to Second Harvest’s main office in New Orleans. There, the information is presented to Congress, asking for assistance.
When asked if she sees an uptick in need of food because of the pandemic, Green said it is the normal amount of people in need. She speculates the demand is not greater because people are getting stimulus checks, and also more SNAP benefits were given.
According to Second Harvest, “One in five households in Louisiana is at risk of hunger. Across the state, the rising cost of food, housing, and utilities, coupled with high unemployment and low-wage jobs, have increased the need for emergency food assistance.”
Second Harvest Food Bank provides food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response. Second Harvest provides food and support to 700 plus community partners and programs across 23
parishes. Their staff and volunteers distribute the equivalent of more than 32 million meals to 210,000 plus people a year. Every year, Second Harvest secures millions of pounds of food that otherwise would have gone to waste.
Ninth Baptist Church distributed 99 boxes on Saturday and 79 on Tuesday. The boxes are given to people who are currently on SNAP and also people new to the area who have not yet registered with SNAP. Their pantry is also stocked for people who meet with unfortunate circumstances, such as losing a home to a fire. When the church has excess food, they donate it to the New Way of Southwest Louisiana boys home, Ville Platte city jail, and the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s office jail.
To inquire about food boxes, call Ninth Baptist Church at 337-363-4357.