Addressing Louisiana Hunger: How Buying a Duck Can Help Acadiana

Ouch! That's probably the feeling you have when you buy groceries these days. Imagine that you are struggling to put food on the table. The problem of food insecurity in Louisiana is a real one and tens of thousands of people in Acadiana battle this each day of the year.

You may wonder if there are programs that help with this. The answer is yes, but it's not going to pay for all the things a struggling family needs to make meals that last a whole month.

Now imagine you live paycheck to paycheck, and the money you make doesn't go as far as it used to. That represents a large portion of the homes throughout Acadiana.

Officials at Second Harvest say their food pantries are getting requests for help from people who generally haven't had to ask for help.

Think about how much you pay for groceries each month compared to what you were paying for them in January 2020. The food price increases have been substantial, and unfortunately, things are not getting any better.

At least one out of every five households in Acadiana doesn't have enough money to make sure they don't go hungry. Even with government assistance, the need only continues to grow.

From an article concerning food insecurity from the Current:

In addition to assistance programs, charitable organizations provide tens of thousands of meals, grocery bags, and food items every month. Catholic Charities delivers 25,000 meals and 3,000 food bags each month through its soup kitchen and food bank. Second Harvest serves upwards of 20,000 in Acadiana each month.

Another fact that may stun you, even before COVID, 24% of children in Acadiana and 100,000 needed help putting food on the table.

Making sure that we are helping our friends and neighbors can be easy.

Second Harvest uses $0.96 of every dollar donated to buy, warehouse, and distribute food to those in need.

The Acadiana Duck Derby is one way to help curb the issue of those experiencing food insecurity. You can buy a duck for $5, and the grand prize is $5,000! There are also other prizes you can win!

Some of the other major prizes you can win are the following:

Raising Cane's for a Year

University of Louisiana Sports Package

Yoga or Dance Lessons for 1 Year from Gerami Academy of Fine Arts

2009 New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Hat Signed by Drew Brees and Reggie Bush

Moncus Park Membership

Acadiana Cane Cutters Baseball Package

Gift Basket from Caroline and Company

Birthday Party at Surge Entertainment

These are just some of the prizes that come along with raising money to help people who are having trouble keeping food on the table consistently.

Want to buy a duck? Click here.

The derby will be held at St. Julien Park in Broussard on Saturday, June 29. The party starts at 2 p.m. The ducks will run at 3 p.m.