LAFAYETTE, La. — As frigid temperatures send more residents seeking shelter across Acadiana, the need for hot meals is on the rise. Second Harvest Food Bank is working alongside warming shelters in five parishes — including one at the Dupuis Recreation Center in Graham Brown Memorial Park — to ensure no one goes hungry during the cold snap.
On Tuesday evening, Second Harvest provided meals at the shelter, with another dinner service planned for Wednesday evening. While no services are scheduled for Thursday, the food bank will resume serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Friday to Sunday as cold conditions are expected to persist.
"The city of Lafayette, by opening up the Dupuis Center, is actually opening their hearts to help those people," said John Sillars, Second Harvest's Chief Strategy Officer. "It's more than just a warm place to be, but Second Harvest is providing them with a hot meal as well. And so it's the community recognizing that these people are out there and they need our help."
Each meal service at the shelter feeds between 80 and 100 people, and organizers say more than 500 meals have already been served at the Graham Brown Memorial Park location alone.
Second Harvest credits support from the community for making the meal distribution efforts possible as they continue to provide much-needed nourishment to those seeking warmth and safety during Acadiana's coldest nights.
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