IBERIA PARISH — By 4:30 every afternoon, the West End Boys and Girls Club in New Iberia fills with laughter and the smell of dinner. For many kids here, it’s more than just a place to spend the afternoon. It’s a safe haven, and for some, the best meal they’ll have all day.

“Once they come in and they have that meal, you can see it change their mood,” said D’André Hypolite, the club’s unit director. “I've seen kids come in and go from being upset to just being able to sit down, relax, have that meal, and then it kind of resets them for the rest of the day.”

The meals come through a partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, which has worked with the Boys and Girls Club for about five years. Every weekday, hot meals are delivered to the club, along with cold meals on Fridays to help famili

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