Mobile Distribution Program Receives Critical Funding from BASF to Fight Hunger
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank Mobile Distribution program, a critical outreach project aimed at fighting hunger in areas where accessing nutritious food is difficult, is receiving a generous financial gift that will help reach more families in need. BASF, as part of their Juneteenth celebration at the Ascension Parish Courthouse, today announced a $25,000 donation to fund four mobile food distributions in Ascension Parish.
The Mobile Distribution Program is a donor-funded program designed to distribute food in areas known as food deserts – geographic locations where a grocery store is not easily accessible for low-income or rural areas. In these food deserts, individuals and seniors often lack transportation and have a difficult time accessing enough food to secure three meals a day.
Since 2014, BASF has contributed more than $200,000 to the Food Bank to make an impact in the lives of the local communities they serve. This year, BASF will sponsor three mobile distributions for local families over the coming months and then a fourth distribution later this year during the holidays. The mobile distributions are an opportunity to serve local families with both nonperishable resources and nutritious, perishable food items.
“At BASF, we value people above all else, and to see the statistics of how many or our fellow community members are food insecure is staggering,” said Sarah Haneline, BASF’s Workforce Development and Talent Strategy Manager and Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank Board Member. “Through our continued financial and volunteer support, we aim to provide a better quality of life for those most vulnerable in our community.”
“BASF has been a longtime supporter of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, and we are so grateful once again for their generosity in helping us serve the food insecure in our community,” said Mike Manning, President, and CEO of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. “These mobile distributions are critical to assisting low-income families, individuals, and seniors struggling with hunger daily. We could not do what we do without the support of companies like BASF.”
Per a new Meal Gap study released by Feeding America just this month, Louisiana ranks #1 among all states in both child hunger and senior hunger. In Ascension parish alone, 1 in 9 children are food insecure and the parish has over 11,000 individuals in need of food assistance.