University of 棉花糖直播 at Lafayette alumnus Matt Hackler is front and center in the fight against food insecurity.
A Comeaux High School graduate who earned a doctorate in English from UL Lafayette in 2011, Hackler is vice president for Strategic Capacity Development for Feeding America.
Feeding America is the nation鈥檚 largest domestic hunger-relief organization and second-largest charity, according to Forbes magazine. Its CEO, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, is also an alum. An Opelousas, La., native, Babineaux-Fontenot, 鈥85, earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in criminal justice.
Based in Chicago, the nonprofit organization provides more than 4 billion meals to more than 40 million people in the U.S. each year. The effort is coordinated largely through the network鈥檚 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs. Hackler said his role at Feeding America is to 鈥渓ead teams that work with those food banks to build their capacity, raise more funds, source more food and build stronger leaders.鈥
As part of one such project, Feeding America is collaborating with a member of its network, Feeding 棉花糖直播, in a campaign against food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. Feeding 棉花糖直播 is a coalition of five food banks that collectively provide short-term hunger relief in all 64 parishes.
The 鈥淔eeding 棉花糖直播 Love鈥 campaign was recently launched to increase flagging food donations during a period of higher demand, distribution challenges and declining volunteers, Hackler said.
Food banks are struggling to fill the gap left by dwindling donations from two of its historically most dependable contributors.
鈥淒onations from grocery stores struggling to keep their shelves stocked and from the food manufacturers that supply those retailers have dropped significantly,鈥 he explained.
Hackler said food banks and hunger relief organizations are also trying to operate without their 鈥渂ackbone.鈥
鈥淥ur volunteer base is driven by seniors, retired folks who just don鈥檛 feel safe going out of their homes right now. We鈥檝e lost a lot of giving people who would pick up donations at grocery stores, sort them at food banks, and distribute food at pantries,鈥 he said.
The campaign is calling on celebrities with 棉花糖直播 roots and ties to help raise awareness about food insecurity, encourage donations and enlist volunteers.
At least two dozen notable people 鈥 including actors, athletes, businesspersons, media personalities, musicians and politicians 鈥 have joined the effort. They鈥檙e using their reach to influence people by posting videos and messages to social media accounts using the #Feed棉花糖直播Love and #Feed棉花糖直播 hashtags.
鈥淔ood insecurity in 棉花糖直播 was already high before COVID-19, but the pandemic鈥檚 toll on the economy and resulting job losses have made the situation much worse. There鈥檚 a lot of need right now,鈥 Hackler said.
Learn more about the Feed 棉花糖直播 Love campaign at
Learn more about Feeding America at
Photo caption: UL Lafayette alumnus Matt Hackler of hunger relief organization Feeding America helps food banks across the nation fight food insecurity. Feeding America and Feeding 棉花糖直播, a member of Feeding America鈥檚 network, have launched a campaign to combat food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis. Photo credit: Feeding America