(The Center Square) – Louisiana Sen. Patrick McMath, R-Mandeville, is questioning whether one of the state’s largest food banks is preventing smaller organizations from collecting surplus food from local grocery stores, a concern he hoped to address at a legislative hearing Monday.
John Sillars, chief strategic officer at Second Harvest Food Bank, notified the Senate Health and Welfare Committee just two hours before the hearing that he would not attend, citing scheduling conflicts. St. Tammany Parish lawmakers had expected Sillars to address recent concerns about his organization’s conduct as a regional food bank.
Second Harvest’s longtime partnership with Northshore Food Bank in Covington ended earlier this year. Following the separation, Second Harvest redirected food supplies to other local pantries, while grocery stores that had previously donated food to Northshore reportedly stopped doing so.
McMath’s concern is that Second Harvest may be preventing other food banks from receiving donations from grocery stores if those grocery stores also have agreements with Second Harvest. “If everyone’s goal is to provide food for needy people, is a larger organization attempting to protect their territory?” McMath said in an interview. McMath requested copies of Second Harvest’s agreements with Feeding America and retailers and promised that the committee would address the issue next month.
During a recent visit to Northshore Food Bank, a group of St. Tammany Parish lawmakers learned of the organization’s split with Second Harvest. Recounting the visit, Rep. Kim Carver said there were concerns that local food pantries are “kind of being blocked by providers like Second Harvest by having these master agreements.”
Northshore did not return requests for comment or clarification.
“I only know one side of that argument,” Carver said. “I was very interested in the fact that they were on the agenda today.”
Louisiana has five major regional food banks affiliated with Feeding America, a national nonprofit that coordinates food donations from grocery chains, manufacturers and other suppliers. Those regional food banks distribute food through hundreds of smaller organizations, including churches and community pantries that provide groceries directly to families in need.
Second Harvest is one of those five regional food banks, serving much of southern Louisiana, including St. Tammany Parish. The regional food bank cut ties with Northshore following a review of Northshore’s eligibility requirements.
Those requirements included proof of residence and a physical address, according to Northshore’s website. Federal regulations governing U.S. Department of Agriculture food assistance prohibit requiring addresses or identification documents to determine eligibility, raising questions about whether Northshore’s policies complied with federal rules.
Toups said Northshore voluntarily withdrew from Second Harvest’s network following the review, ending a partnership that had lasted decades.
The separation affected three sources of food previously available to Northshore through Second Harvest: USDA commodities, food recovered from grocery stores and other retailers, and food purchased by Second Harvest for distribution.
He said all three sources were redirected to other Northshore area pantries to ensure residents continued receiving assistance.
“We both enjoyed a decades long and productive partnership and would welcome them back to this mission today should they reconsider,” Toups said.
