St. Joseph Diner, food bank announce plans to expand to serve more in Acadiana

The ringing bell at St. Paul the Apostle Church could be heard marking the 9 o'clock hour on Thanksgiving morning as people were spreading tablecloths and prepping food on nearby Simcoe Street.

They were preparing the site of St. Joseph Diner to serve the hungry of Acadiana on this American feast day. It's the first time the Catholic Charities of Acadiana-operated soup kitchen is serving meals on-site since the COVID-19 pandemic hit Louisiana in full force in spring 2020.

From Thursday on, people can come get a daily hot meal from 11 a.m.-noon under a tent in the parking lot of the diner, which management finds too small to safely accommodate the 200 or so people they often served at a time pre-pandemic.

The soup kitchen, which has been serving Acadiana since 1983, has been preparing takeaway meals and delivering them across the area for the last year and a half using "diner-mobile" vans five days a week. Catholic Charities is returning to serving on-site, outdoors, seven days a week.

The goal is to return to serving indoors when it is deemed safe to do so. The chronically hungry and homeless tend to be more susceptible to illness, COVID or otherwise.

One way to reach that goal is to build a bigger facility, especially as food insecurity has increased across the region, leaders said at a press conference Thursday.

"The COVID pandemic highlighted not only the existing need of those experiencing hunger, but also presented challenges in providing nutritious meals and supplemental food in a safe environment," said Kim Boudreaux, CEO of Catholic Charities of Acadiana.

"Though it is time to return to in-person dining at St. Joseph Diner, we want to do it safely while also being in a position to not ever have to close the doors again," she said. "This planned expansion will help us better serve those who are suffering from hunger throughout Acadiana."

A capital campaign to fund an expansion and buildout of St. Joseph Diner and FoodNet Food Bank will kick off in early 2022, with more details to be released at that time. The FoodNet has been an Acadiana provider since 1987 and partnered with Catholic Charities in 2019.

Donations for the expansion have begun, starting with a $300,000 gift from the Acadiana law firm Broussard & David announced on Thanksgiving Day.

"We as Christians and as people are called to help those most in need," Blake David, senior partner at Broussard & David, said. "We (at the firm) represent one family at a time, but we are called to do so much more."

He encouraged others in the area to follow suit and donate to this effort to expand the reach of St. Joseph Diner, which provides upwards of 400,000 meals a year.

The proposed expansion of St. Joseph Diner will include a new and larger dining room with increased access for clients, as well as expanded hours of meal service to reduce the number of people who are served at once, according to a release. Boudreaux hopes to provide more of a restaurant dining experience at the new facility rather than a traditional soup kitchen.

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"As an organization we have always worked to honor the inherent dignity of each of our clients," Boudreaux said. "We want to provide the dignity of eating when you are hungry instead of being told when you can or can't eat, along with offering a client choice pantry option through FoodNet Food Bank.

"This expansion will work to build capacity in our food and nutrition programs and help us to meet regional needs of people suffering on a wider scale. We want to ensure no member of the community goes without a nutritious meal."

Logistics and other details about where the new facility will be are being discussed and will be announced with details of the capital campaign early next year, Boudreaux said.

Bishop Douglas Deshotel said he is very much encouraged by the upcoming campaign and this first donation, which he said answers the call given in the Bible in the book of Matthew: "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me."

"St. Joseph Diner (and its partners) are doing the work of the Gospel, caring for those in need in our community," Deshotel said. "They are showing to those around us, those in need, the face of God."

Contact children's issues reporter Leigh Guidry at Lguidry@theadvertiser.com or on Twitter @LeighGGuidry.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: St. Joseph Diner, food bank announce plans to expand to serve more