AFTER FIRST ROAD WIN, CAJUNS TURN ATTENTION TO TEXAS STATE 1CC THE
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T u e s d ay, N ov e m b e r 4, 2025
“We just don’t have the dollars, the manpower, the food, to give that much food out at one time, at a time that was already at an all-time low.” PAT R. VAN BURKLEO, executive director of Feeding Louisiana
SNAP shutdown strains Louisiana food banks
After court rulings, administration says it will fund half of program
$2.00X
Guard center concerns addressed Officials say facility will store weapons; they won’t be fired BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
Residents drive through to pick up food at Second Harvest Food Bank in 2024. Food banks across the state have seen an increase in demand since the government shutdown ended funding for food stamps. BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — Louisiana food banks have seen an influx in demand as federal funding for food stamps expired due to the federal government shutdown, which has gone on 34 days with no end in sight Monday. Louisiana started using state money Saturday, when federal dollars stopped, to provide some benefits to the elderly, disabled people and children. But that has not covered all of the nearly 800,000 people in the state who use the program — about 53,164 people considered ablebodied adults will not receive state-fund-
ed assistance, the state Department of Health said. And state officials are looking to the feds to renew the program soon. The Trump administration, after rulings from two federal courts, announced Monday it would start providing funds for about half the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provides food stamps for about 42 million Americans. But just when, how and who will receive benefits is still being worked out. Meanwhile, the Health Department suggested in a statement that SNAP recipients not receiving benefits should go to local food banks. But that could prove problematic as
the food banks already are receiving less money and fewer foodstuffs from previous budget cuts, said Pat R. Van Burkleo, the executive director of Feeding Louisiana, the Baton Rouge-based trade association for the state’s local food banks. “If everyone rushes to the food bank, there will definitely be some food shortages going on in the state of Louisiana and across the country,” Van Burkleo said Monday. “We just don’t have the dollars, the manpower, the food, to give that much food out at one time, at a time that was already at an all-time low.” Louisiana food banks, which are seeking
ä See SNAP, page 6A
Ruling cites failure to study climate risks
Longtime President Clark to take over
BY JOSIE ABUGOV
Staff writer
ä See LNG, page 4A
WEATHER HIGH 75 LOW 51 PAGE 6A
ä See GUARD, page 4A
Stuller founder to step down as CEO
Judge voids LNG buildout permit
A first-of-its-kind ruling by a Louisiana judge has interrupted the state’s rapid buildout of its LNG industry, raising questions over whether regulators will have to look more closely at the facilities’ environmental impacts before granting permits. The recent decision struck down a key permit for a liquefied natural gas plant over failing to consider the impacts of climate change, effectively halting construction for the multibilliondollar project in Cameron Parish. Environmental and community groups applauded the decision as an incremental win in
A Louisiana Army National Guard Readiness Center under construction next to a Lafayette residential neighborhood can be used to store weapons, but they will not be fired on the property, an official wrote in response to questions from two local legislators. State and local officials broke ground Oct. 8 on construction of a $37.5 million, 83,000-square-foot center in the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s University Research Park. Most people in Lafayette were surprised to hear that the center, which will provide a new home base for the 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, will be built on prime real estate leased to the National Guard for 55 years at no cost. Soldiers of the 256th Brigade currently use a readiness center on Surrey Street, which is around 50 years old. Even people whose homes will abut the facility knew nothing about it until the groundbreaking. They raised concerns with state officials about safety, potential flooding and landscaping between the buildings and homes. “We were not informed,” Memory Lane resident Sarah Brabant said Friday. “The first thing we knew, there were big hulking machines digging it up.” Brabant still has concerns about the impact of the National Guard training facility on property values in and around the neighborhood, the safety of neighborhood children and traffic. “I think the whole thing has been mishandled,” she said. State Rep. Annie Spell shared on social media an Oct. 29 letter from Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general with the Louisiana
BY ADAM DAIGLE
Acadiana business editor
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
Matt Stuller, founder and CEO of Stuller Inc., is stepping down next year but will remain with the company.
Stuller Inc. founder Matt Stuller will step down from his longtime CEO post next year but will remain with the company, company officials announced Monday morning. Stuller, who started the company in 1970, will remain as executive chairman of the board of directors for
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the jewelry manufacturing company while longtime President Danny Clark will become CEO effective Jan. 1, company officials announced. The company, which is the largest private employer in Lafayette Parish that is not health care-focused, also announced that current COO Belit Myers will become company president at that time. “I am proud of the family-owned business we continue to build and the 2,000 careers we have created across Acadiana,” said
ä See STULLER, page 4A
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