Delgado Culinary Arts Teams Up with the New Orleans Saints and Sanderson Farms for Hurricane Ida Relief

November 23, 2021

In partnership with Sanderson Farms, the New Orleans Saints teamed up with the Delgado Community College Culinary Arts program to successfully complete four separate food distribution events for southeastern Louisiana communities in need of support in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

On Sunday, August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall in southeastern Louisiana. The Category 4 storm became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the state of Louisiana on record, ravaging the region and leaving a plethora of communities in need of food, water, and other everyday resources.

The Saints and Sanderson Farms sprang into action, engaging with the Delgado Community College Culinary Arts faculty and staff, and developing a hurricane relief series made possible by Sanderson Farms’ generous chicken donation.

The food distribution series, with efforts focused on lending a helping hand in communities still feeling the effects of Hurricane Ida beyond the scope of New Orleans, kicked off Saturday, October 9 at the Little Caillou Volunteer Department Station 3 in Chauvin, La., and ran bi-weekly through November 20. The second round distribution took place in St. Rose, La., on Friday, October 22; round three occurred in Marrero, La., for kids from Laffite on November 5; and the final round took place in LaPlace, La., on November 20. Approximately 500 meals were prepared for distribution at each site.

“It has been a thrill to partner with Sanderson Farms and Delgado Community College to positively impact our neighboring communities following the devastation of Hurricane Ida,” said New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson. “We hope that the meals Sanderson Farms, Delgado, and our Saints staff have distributed to specifically targeted areas hit hardest by the storm have brought a sense of relief to those communities during this challenging time.”

“At Sanderson Farms, when our families and neighboring communities are impacted by crisis, it’s our responsibility to provide help and support as they get back on their feet,” said Joe F. Sanderson, Jr., CEO and Chairman of the Board of Sanderson Farms. “We are honored to partner with the New Orleans Saints and Delgado Community College Culinary Arts to provide meals to these Louisiana communities.”

“The faculty, staff, and students of the Culinary Arts program at Delgado know first-hand what it feels like to be caught up in the aftermath of a disastrous hurricane, having pulled together to rebuild their program in the years following Hurricane Katrina. Putting our skills and facilities to work in service to our friends and neighbors in southeastern Louisiana communities after Ida is something meaningful that we can do to help them. We are grateful to Sanderson Farms and the New Orleans Saints for arranging this partnership with our Culinary Arts program,” said Dr. Larissa Littleton-Steib, Chancellor of Delgado Community College.