Volunteers Pack More Than 105,000 Meals at Dillard University Event Supporting Million Meals for MLK Campaign

NEW ORLEANS, La. – More than 500 volunteers filled Dillard University’s Dent Hall Natatorium on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, spending their day off as a “day on” in service to the New Orleans community. Working in teams stretched wall to wall, they packed more than 105,000 red beans and rice meals, including Louisiana-grown rice donated by Cajun Country Rice, within two hours. 

“We were so pleased to be a part of making this year's Million Meals for MLK a success. This event represented all the very best of New Orleans and how we envision King's ‘Beloved Community’ - college students, corporate and community sponsors, the D9 and HBCUs, a few line dances and some red beans and rice,” said Dillard University President Monique Guillory, Ph.D. “There was a whole lot of love and fellowship that day. We're already looking forward to next year!"

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (Louisiana Blue), Healthy Blue Louisiana and Entergy Louisiana hosted the meal-packing party to support the second Million Meals for MLK campaign from Volunteer Louisiana and Feeding Louisiana. Employees and their families volunteered alongside students from local Divine Nine Greek organizations.

“This was by far the biggest and most successful meal-packing party we’ve ever hosted in the New Orleans region, both for volunteer turnout and number of meals packed,” said Rod Teamer, Louisiana Blue director, Connection and Belonging. “You could feel the energy and excitement in the room as everyone worked together. It was great to see all the university students come out to fulfill Dr. King’s legacy of service. Many of them brought along their parents and grandparents to share the experience and make it a true community event.” 

The meals volunteers packed at this event will go to Second Harvest Food Bank, which will stock them for families in need. 

“Food banks typically have low supplies at the beginning of the year, after the busy holiday season. This  event was important to make sure Second Harvest can keep serving the New Orleans area and giving families nutritious meals,” said Michael Tipton, Louisiana Blue Foundation president and vice president, Community Relations. “We appreciate all the volunteers who gave the gift of their time on Martin Luther King Day to help our friends and neighbors – you are making a difference.” 

There are many ways Louisianians can share, serve and support the Million Meals for MLK campaign during January. Visit MillionMealsforMLK.org to find events near you, donate to your local food bank and see how you can help Feeding Louisiana’s statewide network of food banks collect 1 million or more meals. 

About Louisiana Blue

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, or Louisiana Blue, is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. Founded in New Orleans in 1934, we are a taxpaying, not-for-profit health insurer with offices in every major region of Louisiana to serve our customers. We have been recognized for the past seven years as an honoree of The Civic 50, named by Points of Light as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States. J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Commercial Member Health Plan Satisfaction Study ranked us #1 in member satisfaction among commercial health plans in the East South Central Region. Louisiana Blue also was nationally recognized for exceptional customer service by USA Today’s America’s Best Customer Service 2025.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. We invite all Louisianians to visit our website at lablue.com or talk to us on social media @MyLouisianaBlue.

About Healthy Blue

Healthy Blue is a managed healthcare provider that has been serving the state since 2012, and currently serves the state’s Medicaid, Medicaid Expansion and LaCHIP programs. Healthy Blue, a joint venture between Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and Anthem Partnership Holding Company, LLC (parent company, Anthem, Inc.), recognizes the challenges low-income and underserved individuals face, and tailors its programs such that health plan members are assured care that is not only accessible, but also accountable, comprehensive, integrated and patient-centered. Healthy Blue provides ongoing community relations and outreach to encourage members to become active participants in their healthcare. Also, through health education programs, members are empowered to choose and sustain healthy lifestyles. To learn more about Healthy Blue, visit www.myhealthybluela.com and follow the company on Facebook and Twitter @HealthyBlueLA and LinkedIn @healthy-blue-louisiana.

About Entergy Louisiana

Entergy Louisiana, LLC provides electric service to more than 1 million customers in 58 parishes and natural gas service to more than 94,000 customers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Entergy Louisiana is a subsidiary of Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR), an integrated energy company engaged in electric power production, transmission and retail distribution operations. Entergy delivers electricity to 3 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy owns and operates one of the cleanest large-scale U.S. power generating fleets with approximately 24,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including 5,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, Entergy has annual revenues of $10 billion and approximately 12,000 employees.