Archbishop Aymond Addresses Ongoing Issues with Second Harvest Food Bank

To the Clergy, Religious, and Laity of the Archdiocese of New Orleans:

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

The community conversation around the leadership transitions at Second Harvest Food Bank have continued and grown more contentious over the past week.

It is a Gospel call and tenet of our Catholic faith to feed the hungry. I want to assure the community that the mission of Second Harvest Food Bank is critical and that neither I, nor anyone associated with the archdiocese, would ever do anything to impede the organization from fulfilling its mission. We are not asking Second Harvest to do anything that would be contrary to that mission and will always honor the wishes of donors and all grants and contracts. As I have publicly stated, no demand for settlement funds has been made and no donor funds from Second Harvest have been used or will be used to fund the archdiocese’s bankruptcy proceedings.

The programs of Second Harvest in the greater New Orleans area and in all 23 parishes the organization serves have continued uninterrupted ensuring that those facing food insecurity are receiving the assistance they have come to count on from Second Harvest. With continued donor and volunteer support that will not change. The dedicated and experienced staff continue to provide these vital services and will continue to do so.

As I have said before, the former leadership of Second Harvest had asked to divest itself from the Archdiocese of New Orleans - meaning they are seeking to formally separate themselves. This is a second step of separation for in 2011, Second Harvest was separated from Catholic Charities. At that time, at the request of the Second Harvest Board of Directors, the divestiture allowed Second Harvest to move forward with all of the assets and with the Archbishop of New Orleans as sole member.

Conversations around the future of Second Harvest’s relationship to the Archdiocese of New Orleans and the terms of a formal separation are ongoing. A committee of the Board of Directors is being formed and will be tasked to explore all options and opportunities and will make recommendations about how best to move forward. I remain open to this conversation and look forward to hearing their recommendations.

An additional committee of the Second Harvest board is also actively considering candidates to lead Second Harvest into the future.

As we move forward, I think it is important to note that similar conversations about formal separations are being had with other agencies and entities of the archdiocese, particularly Christopher Homes. As many of you may recall we recently sold Notre Dame Health System. All of this is in an effort to create a more sustainable and efficient archdiocese for the future that carries less liability and bureaucracy so that our focus may be on sharing the faith and bringing the Gospel to the community. It is my daily prayer that we will be successful in these endeavors and provide a feasible blueprint for the future of the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

I ask you to join me in prayer for all involved and for all of those served by Second Harvest in our community and beyond.

Wishing you God’s blessings, I am,

Sincerely in Christ,
 
Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond
Archbishop of New Orleans