Acadiana Business

Krispy Krunchy sends 10,000 deep-fried tornado care packages

Moore, Okla., got a lil' Southern lovin' this week from Krispy Krunchy Foods - headquartered in Lafayette's River Ranch - which delivered 10,000 boxes of its "Cajun Recipe" chicken dinners to the people working to piece back together the tornado-ravaged area.

Moore, Okla., got a lil' Southern lovin' this week from Krispy Krunchy Foods - headquartered in Lafayette's River Ranch - which delivered 10,000 boxes of its "Cajun Recipe" chicken dinners to the people working to piece back together the tornado-ravaged area.

Krispy Krunchy representatives from six of the company's markets in Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana and Texas arrived Tuesday and began feeding the emergency responders, volunteers and residents working on Moore's recovery. Touched by the gesture, Rev. Joseph Wingfield, pastor of First Christian Church, described the chicken dinners as nothing short of a "blessing" for the people of the devastated city.

For Krispy Krunchy founder and President Neal Onebane, a Lafayette native, the decision to send thousands of chicken dinners was all about knowing first-hand what it's like to recover from Mother Nature's toll.

"After having experienced so many disasters in South Louisiana and along our Gulf coast, it's great to be able to give back," says Onebane. "People from South Louisiana have a long history of generosity. When we faced our own disasters, others were there to assist us."

Tyson Foods, C.H. Guenther and Sysco Foods also were involved in the chicken dinner effort.