Alexandria, La. – (November 3, 2020) – Over the past two days, RoyOMartin participated in a hurricane-relief effort with partners from across the U.S. California-based Morning Star, producer of tomato products, donated 200,000 pounds of food products, which arrived via railcar from Union Pacific Railroad. Working with Morning Star and Union Pacific to receive, supply, and/or distribute the items were the Port of Lake Charles, Sierra Pacific Warehouse Group, Delta One Trucking, RoyOMartin, the United Way of Southwest Louisiana, and the Food Bank of Central Louisiana.
A number of individuals representing the above-listed organizations, along with elected officials and other individuals, were on hand to receive the food donations upon their November 2 arrival in Lake Charles. Upon opening the railcar to reveal the donations, attendees saw several messages of support, written on cardboard packaging, from Morning Star team members.
“We feel like sometimes we are forgotten around this country, what we have come through, and what our needs are,” said state Sen. Ronnie Johns, R-Sulphur. “After Hurricane Laura hit in August, this community went to work. It took a lot of coordination, it took a lot of leadership, it took a lot of commitment, it took a whole lot of hard work. This is an incredible day for us here to see this kind of donation.”
“With two hurricanes back to back, we know our region is still very much in recovery mode. This is why we haven’t shut the doors to our Hurricane Relief Center. Donations like Morning Star’s keep us moving ahead toward completeness and help give the community a sense that they are seen and cared for,” Denise Durel, United Way of Southwest Louisiana president and CEO, said.
By November 3, more than 15,500 pounds of the tomato products had made their way by truck to Alexandria, Louisiana, where they were received by the Food Bank of Central Louisiana.
“We don’t get many hurricane direct hits in Central Louisiana, and this season we’ve had two,” explained Jayne Wright-Velez, executive director of the Food Bank. “In the two weeks after Hurricane Laura, we distributed more than a million pounds of food, then we did it again after Delta hit. There are still people in need from both storms. We are truly grateful for the donation of tomato products from Morning Star and our continued partnership with RoyOMartin. Every donation helps the Food Bank provide food and hope to those in need in Cenla.”
The donated items will be used as grocery distribution items and to prepare hot meals across the region.
Morning Star tomato products were delivered to the Food Bank of Central Louisiana by Delta One Trucking of Port Barre, La. RoyOMartin assisted with securing transportation of the donated food.
