NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) –– The owners of Toups’ Meatery have launched a non-profit called “Toups Family Meal” to assist families in need after funding for a summer food program was declined.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry chose not to participate in an extension of a pandemic-era assistance program that ensured low-income children ate outside of school. The program would have provided $71 million, which the USDA estimates could have benefitted 594,000 children.
Toups Family Meal aims to compensate for that lack of public service by delivering 40 meals a month for more than 500 families this summer.
The concept is nothing new, it was actually born in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We had to lay off our cooks and our servers, like almost all restaurants, and we told them every day, come back for Family Meal so we can check on each other before we knew we needed to be apart,” said Toups’ Meatery co-owner Amanda Toups.
Family Meal refers to the time between lunch and dinner rushes when restaurant workers can eat and socialize.
Eventually, Family Meal expanded beyond its employees. Thanks to a partnership with World Central Kitchen, “We were quickly at 500 people a day, wrapping around the building that we were feeding family meal to over the course of 18 months,” explained Toups. By the end, they gave away 100,000 meals to the community.
Toups said they realized there was a need in our city: “One in three New Orleans children are sitting below the poverty line. That’s absurd in America, it’s absurd, and it makes me very mad.” So, they brought Family Meal back: ” We understood that really, what the kids need is some groceries, some cold meals, and meals that can be reheated.”
The Toups’ Meatery staff packs and sometimes makes the meals that are then distributed every Tuesday and Friday to the families.
But it’s no easy feat; the food and labor cost the program between $12,000 and $14,000 weekly. They need to raise around $120,000 to make sure that everyone in need is fed through August 2024.
“We really, really need your help to keep going. If we’re going to get these 60,000 meals out. I know we can. I know we can as a community because everybody knows in New Orleans no one’s coming to save us but us,” said Toups.
If you want to donate, volunteer for delivery, or find more information, visit the Toups Family Meal website.
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