Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank

In 1984, the Baton Rouge economy was among the worst in the nation. The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank was organized to aid in this problem in the fall of ’84 as an outgrowth of Urban Ministries Coalition. The downtown churches and social relief agencies, all members of the Coalition, had noticed three times the usual number of people coming to them seeking assistance. Also at that time, Delchamps Food Stores contacted United Way wanting to donate the food they could not sell to a local organization that would feed the hungry. United Way called together a small group which became the Steering Committee for the new Food Bank.