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Boys & Girls Club to provide meals on Friday in Abbeville

While Louisiana is set to go into Phase 1 on Friday, there is still help needed for many families affected by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Some of that help will be available this Friday morning in Abbeville.
On Friday, the Boys & Girls Club Rodney Unit in Abbeville will partner with the Three O’Clock Project to provide meals for children in Vermilion Parish.
“It came to our attention that there was a greater need in Vermilion Parish,” Rodney Unit Director Brian Ford said. “We wanted to do something to help.”
Volunteers will be handing out meals from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Boys & Girls Club in A.A. Comeaux Park in Abbeville.
“It’s open to anyone in Vermilion Parish,” Ford said. “You will get one box per child in your household.”
Boxes include milk as well as enough meals for that child for the week. There is no signup needed or information to provide. Children do not have to be present during pickup.
“We will have three or four stations to have this going as smoothly as possible,” Ford said.
Volunteers are still being sought to help with that process. Anyone interested in volunteering can sign up at www.signupgenius.com/go/9040a4dafae2aaaf49-meal1.
Ford said the club has a long-standing working relationship with Three O’Clock Project.
“That’s the same group that helps us provide meals for our kids every day for our after-school program,” Ford said.
That after-school program ended abruptly due to the pandemic. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards announced on Monday that the state will go into Phase 1, which opens some things at 25% capacity. Phase 1 is expected to last 21 days, which brings it into early June. Ford said plans are in place to have Boys & Girls Club summer program kick off in mid-June.
“Our plan right now is to open up on June 15,” Ford said. “We will have some restrictions, but we don’t know what that’s going to look like right now.
“The tentative plan is to open on June 15, but we are still looking at what restrictions we would need on the program to be able to safely make that happen.”
What’s happening on Friday, with the meals, is set for one day. Ford said that could change, should the need remain.
“We are going to see how it goes,” Ford said, “but it is something that we are definitely open to continuing every week.”
It’s part of the positive impact that the club strives to have in Abbeville and Vermilion Parish.
“We’re always trying to be an asset to the community,” Ford said. “We’re always grateful for the support that the community has given us. We saw that there was a need (for the meals).
“We’re about helping kids, so that is what we are trying to accomplish with this.”

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