LAFAYETTE, La. — If you've been struggling to pay for groceries lately, you're not alone.
According to Feeding Louisiana, more than 16 percent of Lafayette Parish residents face food insecurity and are struggling to put food on the table, but one organization wants to help.
AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana held its Healthy Food, Healthy Community event Wednesday at Super One Foods in Lafayette, where Louisiana Medicaid provided all shoppers with a $25 gift card to be used for fresh produce and other goods, besides alcohol and tobacco.
"We want to reach out and make sure we're helping our members and the community at large, so we're here giving them a little boost right before the Fourth of July as our country celebrates its 250 year anniversary," said Grover Harrison, director of member and community engagement for AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana. "People want to celebrate, so there will be cookouts and different festivities that are taking place, so we want to make sure that our members and community are aware of the fact that eating healthy can be fun, as well. So, we're here to make sure they're able to buy some of those nutritious items that are needed."
This event was part of AmeriHealth's plan to make Louisiana healthy while helping local families to put food on the table.
