Bless Your Heart expands efforts to combat food insecurity in local schools

Bless Your Heart Nonprofit is expanding its efforts to fight food insecurity in local schools, thanks to a $40,000 grant from the Danos Foundation. This funding, part of the Danos GIVES Grant Program, has allowed the organization to restock school food pantries across Lafourche Parish, reaching more students than ever before.

All photos provided by Bless Your Heart Nonprofit.

For years, Bless Your Heart has made food insecurity a priority, recognizing the challenges many families face in affording groceries alongside other financial obligations. “We started speaking with local school counselors and quickly realized that when some children are not in school, they do not eat,” said Jeray Jambon Jarreau with Bless Your Heart. “As a board, we couldn’t sleep at night knowing there were hungry children in our community.”

Traditionally, Bless Your Heart has focused on serving nine schools in lower Lafourche, from Golden Meadow to Larose. However, with the additional funding, the nonprofit has expanded its reach to schools in Lockport, Raceland, and Bayou Blue.

The organization’s school food pantry project ensures that each school has a stocked pantry with easy-to-prepare foods, such as peanut butter and bread, canned ravioli, and ramen noodles. “Not all students have adults at home who can cook, so providing typical food pantry staples like rice and beans isn’t enough,” Jarreau explained. “We want them to have food they can prepare themselves.”

Each school implements the program in its own way, from delivering groceries to families to allowing students to take food home themselves. Bless Your Heart recently distributed $20,000 worth of groceries to South Lafourche feeder schools, with students volunteering to help pack and divide the supplies. “One of our missions is to plant a seed in the hearts of our youth to want to serve,” Jarreau said.

With phase one completed, Bless Your Heart is preparing for the next distribution on April 6, 2025, when another $20,000 worth of groceries will be divided among Central Lafourche feeder schools for the first time. “We’re excited to expand this initiative and work with volunteers in Central Lafourche,” Jarreau said.

Beyond school food pantries, Bless Your Heart also operates a free community refrigerator, freezer, and dry goods pantry at the Cut Off Youth Center. Located under the covered pavilion, the fridge is stocked regularly with donations from community members and weekly groceries from Second Harvest Food Bank.

“Anyone can donate, and anyone in need can take food—families with children, the elderly, the disabled, or those who have fallen on hard times,” Jarreau explained. The nonprofit also provides $200 a month to a local woman who cooks and packages meals for the fridge. “It’s amazing how far she can stretch that amount,” Jarreau added.

Bless Your Heart hopes to bring a similar free pantry to Central Lafourche, pending the identification of a suitable location and local volunteers willing to help keep it stocked.

This week’s efforts were made possible with the support of Community Bible Church in Cut Off, which provided space for food distribution, and Galliano Fresh Market, which helped stretch the organization’s dollars further.

“We are so appreciative of Danos for their generosity, Galliano Fresh Market for helping us maximize our funding, and Community Bible Church for their hospitality,” Bless Your Heart shared.

For more information or to get involved, visit Bless Your Heart Nonprofit’s social media page or their website.