Gobble Boxes
The “God-is-Good Gobble Box” project has become one of our favorites! Started in 2020, the outreach identifies families in Acadiana, through our partner ministries, who need a little help for the holidays. The Boxes are filled with all the fixings to cook a Thanksgiving meal for up to 6 people, including a whole turkey and freshly made bread pudding from Fezzo’s. In its fifth year, Love Acadiana distributed 650 boxes in 2024, more than ever before. That’s about 4,000 people blessed with a hearty meal on Thanksgiving!
“What makes this project so special,” Tara Baudoin, executive director, shares, “is that the Boxes are individually delivered by hand-picked volunteers who will take time to visit, pray with and encourage the recipients if they need it. The volunteers report feeling more blessed than the recipients.” As a testament to the popularity of this event, the Gobble Box volunteer signup fills faster than any other event we schedule all year, often attracting volunteers who watch for it on our site before it’s even announced. (Stay tuned!)
In 2024, two new special components were added. The Kindness Challenge by Jimmy Darts, a fun and interactive game meant to inspire kindness, was included as a gift in the Gobble Boxes. Our hope is that if even a fraction of the recipients perform a fraction of the acts on the cards, we can start a movement of kindness that multiplies in Acadiana!
The other special addition in 2024 was a public nomination component. In honor of Greg Manuel, a long-time mentor, sponsor and friend of our ministry, we designated dozens of Boxes for families that the general public helped us identify through a nomination process on our website. Greg strongly believed in going outside the four walls of the Church to reach our neighbors, and this component helped us to do just that. Winners were chosen and Love Acadiana volunteers delivered Gobble Boxes to them the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
The Gobble Box project is made possible with support from these generous partners: Fezzo’s Seafood & Steakhouse, Manuel Companies, Laborde Earles Injury Attorneys, Carmichael’s Honey and Don’s Automotive Group.
