Houma-area food banks see rising demand as COVID, storm and inflation take toll

Cars lined up for more than an hour before Houma's food bank opened Wednesday, a ritual that has become the norm as residents struggle through the COVID pandemic, Hurricane Ida and rising inflation.

"Usually we don't have meat and stuff by the end of the month, and coming here we have enough to make it through the month," said a 31-year-old Houma woman who received help that day.

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She said her income is limited to a disability check she receives due to a mental illness. Living with her mother, her monthly bills usually come out to $600, including rent and utilities. But that doesn't account for food and medicine. Hurricane Ida totaled their roof, and replacing it strained their finances.

"Thankfully, nothing inside was lost, but the roof definitely had to be redone," she said. "Besides that, once we cleaned the mold, we were able to move back in."

Also in line was a 65-year-old Raceland woman who retired after working 37 years as a sitter for the elderly. Ida severely damaged the two connected trailers she lives in with her neice's six children, whom she raises. If she could get the roof repaired, she'd move back in. But she said the $17,500 estimate one roofer gave her was too expensive, and she lacks insurance.

"I go to Walmart, I make groceries and I come out of there with about four or five bags for like $300 or $400," she said. "And I've got to keep going to the store because, oh, lord, they can eat."

The state has informed her she will need to leave the camper in November, as the program was designed as temporary housing. She says she might be able to put a tarp over her damaged roof and move back in, but wasn't sure what her next step will be.

"I'm tired," she said. "I'm just tired."

Terrebonne Churches United's Houma food bank served roughly 10,000 people in 2019. That rose to 21,000 in 2020 and 27,000 last year. It's on track to serve 34,000 this year, said John "Spud" McConnell, who writes grant proposals for the group.

The food bank moved into a building last year at 922 Sunset Ave. that doubled its size to about 7,000 square feet. It will complete a 5,000-square-foot emergency warehouse at the site this year that will better enable it to serve the community after hurricanes.

In Thibodaux, Catholic Charities' Good Samaritan Food Bank, a much smaller operation, estimates demand is up 10% since Hurricane Ida.

Manager Lisabeth Rivet, 57, said the food bank assisted 112 people in April and 123 in May. Traditionally, she said, demand picks up again after school lets out for summer.

Rivet said many seniors need help because they are on a fixed income, and as inflation pushes costs higher, they no longer have enough to pay rent and buy food.

Working families sometimes needed help too, she said. For instance, babysitters can cost so much that it saps much of their family's income.

"Babysitters want minimum wage too," Rivet said. "You can't go to work for minimum wage and pay a babysitter minimum wage."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Houma-area food banks work to keep pace with rising demand