Amid record inflation, St. Vincent de Paul feeds Baton Rouge families: ‘The need is so great’

Less than 40 minutes after the Raising Cane’s River Center opened its doors to families Thanksgiving morning, volunteers had already passed out 1,600 of the 1,800 meals they’d spent hours prepping in the center’s industrial kitchen.

“The need is so great,” said St. Vincent de Paul food services director Denise Terrance as she ran back and forth between the kitchen and the dining area set up for more than 100 patrons in one of the center’s event halls. “We’re just trying to reach everyone everywhere.”

The nonprofit has long provided struggling families in the Baton Rouge area and beyond with home-cooked Thanksgiving meals — a service the organization says has become increasingly needed as local families battle the toll of a multi-year pandemic and now skyrocketing inflation.

“We anticipate that we’re going to see a good number,” St. Vincent de Paul president Michael Acaldo said earlier that morning while he helped set up a smaller giveaway at the organization’s headquarters at St. Vincent de Paul Place. “I think that with Thanksgiving kicking off the holiday season, (families) will continue to feel that inflationary pressure on their checkbooks, especially people who are really working paycheck to paycheck.”

Between June 2021 and June 2022, consumer prices rose a whopping 9.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s the largest increase in four decades.

In particular, many Louisiana households are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of food, energy and gasoline — something Acaldo said he’s seen reflected in the needs of families seeking holiday meals.

“We found people are having a harder time getting to us,” he said. “While some are still blessed with the ability to afford a vehicle, those that don’t have transportation really do depend on our outreach efforts.”

To combat the problem, he explained that a percentage of St. Vincent de Paul volunteers are tasked every year with delivering food to households that are unable to make it to any of the organization’s four meal giveaway locations.

One of those volunteers is Dlaniger Brown, who has been with the nonprofit since it held its first Thanksgiving event in 1982. He agreed there’s been an increase over recent years in the number of people unable to pick up their meals in-person due to a lack of transportation.

“Most of the elderly, a lot of people in the community, they can’t get around,” he said as he stopped for a moment to chat with other volunteers outside the River Center.

Standing next to Brown, Chelsy Oubre directed cars filled with families taking advantage of the event’s drive-through — an option the organization first implemented during the height of the pandemic.

Because she knows the stress many are feeling this holiday season, Oubre said she tries to keep conversations light.

“It’s more about them venting and talking, getting stuff off their chest,” she said. “You talk to them about whatever they want to talk about.”

Back inside the kitchen, volunteers took a much-needed breather.

As the team began to prep for the next rush, Terrance said the organization’s number one goal is to make sure every family in Baton Rouge is fed.

“Driving through, they’ll say ‘y’all are a blessing,’” she said. “Those are the things that make you keep going.”