LAFAYETTE, La. — Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana has received a $25 million donation from author and philantropist MacKenzie Scott.
According to the Associated Press, Scott said Tuesday that she would be donating a total of $4.1 billion to 384 organizations across the country as part of a giving pledge she announced last year.
“Second Harvest Food Bank is able to work across South Louisiana to alleviate hunger and help build thriving communities because of the tens of thousands of community partners, donors and volunteers who donate their food, funds and time to our mission,” said Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO of Second Harvest.
“MacKenzie Scott’s investment in our mission to fight hunger is a testament to the importance and efficacy of the work we do together as a community,” said Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO of Second Harvest in a release. “This gift will leverage and amplify every contribution made by every individual, organization, and foundation that helps us end hunger in South Louisiana."
According to the release, this announcement comes as South Louisiana is in the midst of an unprecedented hunger crisis. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 23-parish service area had a 65 million “meal gap” after South Louisianans did all they could to feed their families.
Second Harvest says it had been able to make up 35 million of those meals annually, representing $112 million worth of food. To fill the remaining gap, they say they have worked every day to find another 30 million meals, or $96 million worth of food.
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