Natchitoches woman organizes free Southern Classic for 200 SNAP recipients, furloughed employees

NATCHITOCHES, La. (KALB) - Thirty-six days into the government shutdown, Andrea Howard said she sees more residents in Natchitoches feeling the impact of paused SNAP benefits.

Born and raised in Natchitoches, Howard said she she felt compelled to do what she could to support her community.

She and several friends worked together to collect donations and purchase over 100 meals from the Southern Classic Chicken in Natchitoches for SNAP recipients and furloughed SNAP employees.

Their generosity did not go unnoticed, as Southern Classic announced they would match the donations, to bring the total to 200 free meals. From 2-4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, the Southern Classic gave a free classic combo to anyone who presented their Louisiana Purchase Card or an LDH employee badge.

Howard said the idea came to her one Sunday morning. “It was just a God idea,” said Howard. “To feed 100 was my initial goal. Posted it on my Facebook page to see how many people would be interested in helping and within 12 hours, I had more than enough donations to pay for over 150 dinners. And here we are.”

Dakari Hawkins, Director of Operations at Southern Classic, said she felt inspired after learning what Howard had done.

“It’s huge for her to be doing this, for the community to be doing this,” said Hawkins. “I think it’s awesome. Struggle doesn’t last forever. Things will get better. Just believe it and it will happen.”

With families on shaky ground until the federal government reopens and SNAP benefits return to normal, Howard said something like a free hot meal can go a long way.

“To me, this is just one less thing they have to worry about today,” remarked Howard. “We will take this matter one day at a time, one moment at a time. My heart goes out to people that may not know where their next meal is coming from, were not prepared for this. And if I can be a help to my brother or my sister, which I feel like I could at this moment, I just wanted to do that.”

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