NEW ORLEANS — Boucherie’s executive chef and owner, Nathanial Zimet, announced the launch of Boucherie Feeds, a program dedicated to providing complete, nutritious and tasty meals to students in low-income areas throughout New Orleans.
In 2020, the pandemic forced Zimet to reduce hours to dinner service only, three nights a week, in order to survive. Even then he wasn’t sure if the restaurant would make it. But in the drastic change, Zimet said he saw an opportunity. With the additional days, he and his team dedicated themselves to furthering their school lunch programs (they deliver breakfast and lunch to a handful of NOLA schools close to the restaurant).
While New Orleans is known for its rich food history and culture, one in five New Orleanians live with food insecurity, and 64% of children in Orleans Parish are income-eligible for federal nutrition programs. In addition to Boucherie’s current school breakfast and lunch program, a recent partnership with the Healthy School Food Collaborative (the first in New Orleans) now gives Boucherie the opportunity to deliver nutritious meals to 500 public school students throughout the city—not just in school, but directly to their homes, seven days a week.
But Zimet said the goal is much bigger. Over the next three years, the team aims to serve 5,000 meals a day.
The program requires a lot of infrastructure and labor to cook, package and transport to schools and student’s homes. Boucherie Feeds is seeking donations to help enable it to reach as many students in need as possible. Donations can be made here: Make a Secure Donation (giveforms.com)
