NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The first stop on Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s tour was the Belle Chase YMCA where he was greeted by elected officials but he was actually there to highlight the efforts of the USDA and it’s partner organizations in fighting food insecurity
Emily Chatelain of the Three O’clock Project stated, “We provide healthy meals to students in summer meal programs and after school programs.”
According to the USDA daytime meals are critical for students this time of year.
“The number of children participating in the national school lunch program during the summer don’t have access they normally would during the school year,” said Eddie Longoria of USDA.
And while shining a light on this food insecurity is an important issue, the fun started when Emhoff had a chance to hang out with the kids.
Doug Emhoff, Second Gentleman stated, “I was one of those kids so it brought back a lot of memories.”
The next stop on the tour was the Broadmoor Food Pantry where the partnership of Second Harvest and USDA bears fruit for these residents.
According to Sandra St Cyr, “One of the special things about this food bank is they care about the food they give you.”
Also at the stop in Broadmoor was the Ochsner Mobile vaccine Unit where Emhoff had a chance to push getting the shot.