St Joseph Diner in Desperate Need of Volunteers

Serving their community has always been a blessing to the folks that run Lafayette's St Joseph Diner. The diner is located at 613 West Simcoe, and has been serving three meals a day to families and individuals who are experiencing poverty and/or homelessness in the Acadiana area since 1983.

The diner is run by Catholic Charities of Acadiana, and has a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans and Acadiana. They were used to serving around 2,100 meals a week to the the eight parish area of the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, but due to the COVID-19 crisis, that number has risen to 15,000 meals a week. And they need some help.

New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees, and The Brees Dream Foundation donated $5 million that is being used for an expanded kitchen. It is a much needed upgrade for serving the hungry in Lafayette, as well as other areas of Acadiana.

Ben Broussard, Catholic Charities spokesman told The Advocate that they "Have never had an issue getting volunteers to St. Joseph Diner. It has always been an engaging and beautiful experience for volunteers to come and to serve.” But now they have seven times as many clients, and they just need some volunteers to help out. They need around 20-30 volunteers a day for not only food service, but packaging, labeling, preparing meals for transportation, and loading.

A volunteer calendar is available if you would like to help. You can also reach out to their Community Engagement Coordinator, Sarah Baquet, with any questions at (337) 235-4972 ext. 1222 or email sarahb@catholiccharitiesacadiana.org