Food Bank, Civic Club Talk Donations
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
(Bobby Ardoin photo)
An Opelousas non-profit food distribution agency and a 90-year-old civic organization provided information about their community services during the Opelousas Noon Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday.
ICONs director Dana Reed and Pam Vidrine, who represented the Opelousas Kiwanis Club, explained their efforts to eliminate hunger and make contributions to individuals who need help.
Reed said ICONs, which has operated the food relief pantry in Opelousas since 2003, uses monetary contributions to help purchase food in addition to accepting food donations at its headquarters at 1411 North Market Street.
The community need for ICONS food services offered from 9 am until noon Monday through Thursday’s, said Reed, has increased.
Food allotments for those who need them are measured in the number of pounds per individual, Reed added.
Second Harvest food items, Reed said, are USDA-approved and delivered to the ICONS warehouse, while money received from donors is used to buy food from retailers.
Volunteer workers work to stock items and load them off trucks, Reed said.
Those who arrive at ICONS expecting a fully-cooked meal will be disappointed, Reed pointed out.
“We don’t cook. We have boxes of food that are packaged and those items are distributed depending on the numbers of people that we are feeding,” said Reed.
Vidrine said the Kiwanians work closely with the St. Landry Parish School District, Opelousas Cerebral Palsy Clinic and other city organizations as the club hosts numerous events.
School officials, said Vidrine, have provided lists of high school homeless students that have enabled the club to supply those families and children with hygiene essentials such as soap, deodorant and underwear.
Vidrien remembered one instance where a homeless student was concerned about whether a younger member of the family would obtain a Kiwanis-provided gift.
The club also annually works with the District to provide gift cards and other prizes for third graders who have been chosen by their schools as most improved students.
Later this month the Kiwanis Club will provide assistance with the downtown Nativity lighting event at the courthouse.
Club members plan to prepare and serve taco soup to those attending, Vidrine added.
