NEW IBERIA, La. - A New Iberia food bank had several thousand dollars donated to help replenish perishable food that had to be discarded after losing power during Hurricane Barry. Also, a food drive has been announced to help them out.
Solomon House lost electricity for 28-36 hours following the storm, according to Ellen Nora, executive director of Solomon House. All the food in the cooler was lost which included meats, produce, dairy and juices.
Both, Cleco and Iberiabank donated to the food bank.
Cleco presented a $5,000 check to the Solomon House Tuesday morning to replenish the 1,000 pounds of perishable food that had to be discarded after losing power from the storm.
"This is amazing," said Nora. "To get this call from Cleco was a welcomed surprise. We truly appreciate the generosity and support Cleco is showing our community. We feed 150 to 200 families in Iberia Parish monthly. With this gift from Cleco, we can recover our loss, restock our pantry, maintain the quality we strive for and continue serving those in need."
"When we heard what happened to their food pantry after the storm, we wanted to help," said Steve Segura, Cleco manager of origination and retail retention. "Helping our customers and the communities in which we live, work and serve is part of our culture, and it's how we do business."
Iberiabank pledged a donation of $1,000 donation to the food to the non-profit in response to the recent food loss. In addition to the monetary donation, Iberiabank branches in New Iberia will kick off a food drive beginning on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. The branches, located at 403 North Lewis Street and 1120 Jefferson Terrace Boulevard, will begin accepting non-perishable food items that will be delivered to Solomon House.
The food pantry has requested items such as canned goods, fruit juices, crackers, and coffee. Donations can be dropped off at the two branches in New Iberia from July 24 until August 9 . For additional questions, contact Solomon House at (337) 364-7798 or Lennie Fields at Iberiabank at (337) 359-1346.
Solomon House, a nonprofit outreach mission, serves as a food pantry for New Iberia residents and also shares food with St. Francis Diner in New Iberia, Our Lady of Victory Food Pantry in Loreauville and St. Nicholas Food Pantry in Lydia.
Related news story
