Food banks in Louisiana have faced increased demand in 2025, even as they wrestle with cuts to federal programs that have benefited them in the past.
Paired with recent upheaval in the SNAP food assistance program, the result has been an uncertain year for food banks tackling hunger in the Pelican State.
The disruptions have sometimes felt like the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Jayne Wright-Velez, executive director of Food Bank of Central Louisiana. The group headquartered in Alexandria serves 11 parishes.
"It's felt like a roller coaster ride that we really couldn't escape," she said.
She says they've been squeezed by cuts to federal programs, including one that supported food purchases from local farmers, followed by the government shutdown and then the whiplash around SNAP.
The pressures collided with rising food costs, which "have really driven a lot of extra people to the food banks, especially over the last several weeks," Wright-Velez said.
Roughly one in six people live with food insecurity in Louisiana, according to Feeding Louisiana. The group represents the state's five regional food banks, which distribute food to partner groups, such as food pantries. Some also do direct service.
Although Louisiana's cost of living is lower relative to some other states, persistent high poverty rates, low-wage jobs and the prevalence of food deserts contribute to food insecurity. Vulnerable groups such as seniors, children and communities of color are especially at risk.
Louisiana also has a large share of people using the SNAP food assistance program — more than 18% of the state's population in 2024, according to the USDA.
At Second Harvest Food Bank, which serves 23 parishes in the Southern part of the state, chief strategy officer John Sillars said their food pantry partners saw people come in for assistance during the recent government shutdown who hadn't used those resources before.
Second Harvest isn’t alone. Food insecurity, overall, is up in the state this year, Sillars said, attributing the increased need to cost-of-living factors such as home insurance rates — which can burden both homeowners and renters as costs are passed on — plus inflation and the cost of groceries.
In South Louisiana, he estimated growth in the food-insecure population from about 407,000 to 436,000 people.
"I think this year what you're looking at is the cost of everything, really," he said.
Sillars also points to food shortages from federal policy changes as an ongoing concern. For the fiscal year that began on July 1, he said their food bank is expecting less food through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to the tune of 4.8 million fewer meals. (The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment; we'll update if we hear back.)
The group's food pantry partners often ask for more protein, such as beef, which is more expensive than it used to be.
A spokesperson for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank said that they have also noticed an uptick in the number of people calling to ask about assistance, which she ascribed to the state of the economy and how expensive things are getting. Their distribution rates increased by nearly 25% from August through October compared to last year.
Representatives of the food banks said they are getting support from the communities they serve, but more is always needed. Cash donations are especially welcome because food banks can stretch cash farther than consumers buying food for donation in the retail setting.
Food donations, however, are also helpful.
At one point a few weeks ago, things were so dire that the Alexandria food bank ran out of canned goods for the first time, though they've now caught up a bit and expect to distribute plenty of food for the upcoming holiday.
Wright-Velez said moving forward, they plan to ask the state for more help in purchasing food. State dollars were a help when the federal farm purchase support program was cancelled. They also continue to look for ways to incorporate more produce in food boxes.
"These last few weeks, we've been trying to keep the food coming in quicker than it's going out," she said.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama, WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
