A few years ago, Lafayette’s Second Harvest food bank saw a dire need among the people they were serving.
The food bank is located at 215 E. Pinhook Road in Lafayette’s 70501 ZIP code. This area encompasses almost the entirety of north Lafayette, bordered by University Avenue, Interstate 10 and St. Martin Parish. It is also marked as a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, defined as having a low-income population where at least 33% of residents live more than a mile from the nearest full-service grocery store.
This isn’t always a problem where reliable transportation is available. There are large shopping centers in central Lafayette and Carencro, but they are mainly accessible via personal vehicle — and according to Second Harvest southwest regional director Paul Scelfo, around 30% of people living at poverty level in the region do not have dependable transportation…