All over Louisiana, people, especially in underserved communities, have limited access to healthy, nutritious foods. In Shreveport, the LSU AgCenter decided to use their LHCC Community Grant funding and bring together several community organizations to do something about it.
Shreveport is located in Caddo Parish where 32% of children are impoverished, 4.1% of the population is unemployed, and the adult obesity rate is 42%. For the LSU AgCenter, building food pantry boxes and placing them in food deserts throughout Shreveport was one way to serve their community and provide those in need with healthy foods.
To accomplish this, the LSU AgCenter brought together local community members to build the boxes, paint them, get community input on where best to place them, and hold a food drive to stock them. The community took pride in creating these boxes, even painting them to honor certain community members and causes that were important to the city. In the boxes, they also included food safety tips and easy recipes, including recipes that do not require cooking for those without access to a kitchen. The boxes can currently be found in various locations throughout Shreveport including near a church, a downtown community center, and a shelter for the unhoused.
Going forward, the LSU AgCenter hopes to continue building partnerships with local organizations to help host food drives and keep the pantries stocked. They also hope to continue including printed recipes, and even expanding beyond food to other items that could be beneficial to those in need such as hygiene products and clothes.
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