Feeding the Needy 2023

Feeding the Needy was founded in 2002 by John Baldwin and Craig Babylon to provide food on Christmas day for families in need on the Northshore. John and Craig shared the idea with Deacon Skip Graffinini, who was the executive director of The Covington Food Bank, which is now The Northshore Food Bank, and learned that The Food Bank was servicing sixty to sixty five families at that time. A decision was made to move forward and the project was named "Feeding the Needy". The Covington Rotary Club was approached for support and special focus was put on providing food for the school children who, during the holidays, do not receive the meals they receive at school and depend on as their main source of nutrition. Each year on December 23 and 24, volunteers from all over the area come together to prepare Christmas boxes that include a 16 to 18 pound cooked turkey with numerous side dishes and dessert. Each box has enough food to feed a family of four to five with larger families receiving additional boxes. Deliveries are made to families throughout the Northshore area including St. Tammany, Washington and Tangipahoa parishes. On Christmas morning, Rotarians and hundreds of community volunteers hand deliver the boxes to the homes of the identified families. Each family only needs to heat the food and it is ready to serve as a substantial Christmas Day meal and have left overs to help on the days leading up to school reopening.
Because of the support from so many generous volunteers and strong partnerships, FTN is able to operate with minimal administrative costs. Donations for FTN are accepted year round.

To Mail a Check: Checks can be made payable to The Covington Rotary Foundation, which is a 501(c)3 foundation with the corresponding tax status. Please mail checks to The Covington Rotary Club, PO Box 541 Covington, LA 70434. Checks can also be dropped off at Baldwin Motors, 1730 N Hwy 190, in Covington.