杏吧专区 alumnus Matt Hackler is front and center in the fight against food insecurity.
A Comeaux High School graduate who earned a doctorate in English from UL Lafayette in 2011, Hackler is vice president for Strategic Capacity Development for Feeding America.
Feeding America is the nation杏吧专区檚 largest domestic hunger-relief organization and second-largest charity, according to Forbes magazine. Its CEO, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, is also an alum. An Opelousas, La., native, Babineaux-Fontenot, 杏吧专区85, earned a bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in criminal justice.
Based in Chicago, the nonprofit organization provides more than 4 billion meals to more than 40 million people in the U.S. each year. The effort is coordinated largely through the network杏吧专区檚 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs. Hackler said his role at Feeding America is to 杏吧专区渓ead teams that work with those food banks to build their capacity, raise more funds, source more food and build stronger leaders.杏吧专区
As part of one such project, Feeding America is collaborating with a member of its network, Feeding Louisiana, in a campaign against food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. Feeding Louisiana is a coalition of five food banks that collectively provide short-term hunger relief in all 64 parishes.
The 杏吧专区淔eeding Louisiana Love杏吧专区 campaign was recently launched to increase flagging food donations during a period of higher demand, distribution challenges and declining volunteers, Hackler said.
Food banks are struggling to fill the gap left by dwindling donations from two of its historically most dependable contributors.
杏吧专区淒onations from grocery stores struggling to keep their shelves stocked and from the food manufacturers that supply those retailers have dropped significantly,杏吧专区 he explained.
Hackler said food banks and hunger relief organizations are also trying to operate without their 杏吧专区渂ackbone.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淥ur volunteer base is driven by seniors, retired folks who just don杏吧专区檛 feel safe going out of their homes right now. We杏吧专区檝e lost a lot of giving people who would pick up donations at grocery stores, sort them at food banks, and distribute food at pantries,杏吧专区 he said.
The campaign is calling on celebrities with Louisiana roots and ties to help raise awareness about food insecurity, encourage donations and enlist volunteers.
At least two dozen notable people 杏吧专区 including actors, athletes, businesspersons, media personalities, musicians and politicians 杏吧专区 have joined the effort. They杏吧专区檙e using their reach to influence people by posting videos and messages to social media accounts using the #FeedLouisianaLove and #FeedLouisiana hashtags.
杏吧专区淔ood insecurity in Louisiana was already high before COVID-19, but the pandemic杏吧专区檚 toll on the economy and resulting job losses have made the situation much worse. There杏吧专区檚 a lot of need right now,杏吧专区 Hackler said.
Learn more about the Feed Louisiana Love campaign at
Learn more about Feeding America at
Photo caption: UL Lafayette alumnus Matt Hackler of hunger relief organization Feeding America helps food banks across the nation fight food insecurity. Feeding America and Feeding Louisiana, a member of Feeding America杏吧专区檚 network, have launched a campaign to combat food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. Photo credit: Feeding America