In Louisiana, life revolves around food, but for thousands across our state, that next meal is getting tougher and tougher to come by. Poverty and food insecurity for Louisiana families are on the rise. “It was one out of every seven. Now it’s one out of every six people, one out of every four children, one out of every three children here in New Orleans does not have enough to eat,” said Natalia Jayroe, with Second Harvest Food Bank. The economy is feeding into this sobering statistic. Rising utility prices, insurance costs and the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have families feeling a new level of desperation, leaving Second Harvest with a lot on its plate. “I have friends that are thinking of just letting their homeowner’s insurance go because they can no longer afford it,” said Jayroe. Last year, the nonprofit helped to feed 2,700 kids as part of its summer feeding program. This year that number is topping 5,400, in addition to the 100,000 snack meals to just get children by when they’re out of school. “That is extremely frightening,” said Jayroe. “I mean, at the very core, can you imagine not knowing if you’re going to eat today if you’re a child?”The organization is also producing 1,000 more meals a day for seniors, working with hospitals and health care entities to stock food pantries. “It relieves the anxiety of thinking, ‘I’m exhausted from this treatment. I have to find a grocery store, hopefully, have enough money to buy the kind of food that’s going to help me get well,’” said Jayroe. It’s now Second Harvest who needs the help: Double the volunteers and helping hands to meet this difficult demand. And as leaders explain there’s a job for every person, every age, with any skill all with the same goal in mind: That no one goes hungry.For those of you interested in volunteering, visit Second Harvest Volunteers.If you’d like to donate, visit no-hunger.org.