On a regular day, Cheba Hut might be made most lively by the chatter of college students and the laughter of families. For three hours on Wednesday, though, the shop was teeming with dozens of dedicated volunteers who assembled over 1,000 sandwiches to stock community fridges.
“I don’t think I’ve ever made so many sandwiches in my life, but I’m around amazing people, and it’s a very fun experience,” said Marjury Lapaix, a child psychology major and member of the Food Recovery Network.
This sandwich-making event was organized by theBLUEPRINT, Teagan Hakkila and LSU’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network, or FRN. The FRN is a non-profit organization based on college campuses that redistributes surplus food to students and employees. LSU’s chapter was established during the fall 2024 semester.
The volunteering event was organized through several different steps.
Hakkila first reached out to theBLUEPRINT founder Samuel Breaux about organizing a service opportunity using a leftover $300 that she had from another event. Eventually, the pair decided on a sandwich-making night at Cheba Hut.
When it came to gathering the supplies, Breaux relied on established relationships with other community members. Shoppers Value donated over 250 loaves of bread and Cheba Hut helped cover the cost of the meat, cheese and bags.
Breaux believes most are able to give back to their community, even if the efforts are not as grand as the businesses he collaborated with.
“If you have an opportunity to help, then, with will and action and some intention, you can help,” Breaux, 25, said. “Don’t feel ashamed about privilege. Don’t feel down about privilege. Take it and use it wherever you can. We’re able to afford this. We’re able to have time to come out and do this.”
Going into the night, Breaux was uncertain about the volunteer turnout.
Having communicated with FRN, the only thing he knew was that 15 volunteers had signed up. Based on this assumption, he estimated that the sandwich count at the end of the night would be around 926.
From 6 to 9 p.m., over 60 volunteers rolled their sleeves up, shimmied their hands into gloves and got to making 1,067 sandwiches.
Volunteer and LSU alumnus James Ellingsworth, 25, believes the attendance was well suited for the event.
“It’s the perfect amount of people to where I feel like I can still help and do stuff, but it’s not too few people to where we can’t actually make a difference,” Ellingsworth said.
Cheba Hut provided two tables for sandwich making, each with six volunteers with specific assignments to maximize the efficiency of assemblage.
“It’s just been a fun time meeting new people, just learning about everybody’s background while also working to paint the bigger picture that we’re here to support people that need the support,” FRN member and industrial engineering junior Madison Boswell said.
The activities weren’t limited to just food, though.
On the patio, volunteers designed cards for children, coined as Cards4Kids, to celebrate the changing seasons. When Hakkila brought the idea to Breaux, he believed it was the perfect activity to round out the community service.
“They had these paper Christmas cards that kids wrote to adults, and I kept it because I was like, ‘This is cool,’” Breaux said. “When she said Cards4Kids, I was like, ‘We should do it back.’”
As much as volunteering benefits a community collectively, sophomore biology sciences major Mallorie Johanning believes that service can be just as personally satisfying.
“There’s a lot of anxiety in the world right now, especially in Louisiana,” said Johanning, who is also an FRN member. “Taking time to impact your local community can be very meaningful to not only the people around you, but to you, yourself, individually. It’s just a good exercise in community, which I think we all need a little more of.”
Other members emphasized the lasting impact of community support.
“Help out, even if it’s a small amount of your time,” Lapaix said. “Try to make a change in our community. Even if it’s a small change, it can be a big difference to others.”
FRN fundraising chair Chloe Smith, 20, echoed the need for giving back to your community when you can.
“You don’t notice those changes until you need them,” Smith said. “So notice them.”
Breaux, also known as SOLEAUX online, is a musician and content creator. He believes his part in giving back to his community is in being the messenger.
“If I can utilize and access a crowd, an audience, through social media and whatnot, then I can become a connecting point,” Breaux said. “I did the work — with help — to figure out the bread, to figure out the cheese, the meats, the location, the timing, the designs, posters, the videos. I’m not making sandwiches, but we have other people making sandwiches, and it’s connecting the people with the action that the community needs.”
As he looks toward the future, Breaux is excited about expanding to other communities and spreading the knowledge gained from hosting events like this.
“This isn’t supposed to stay in Baton Rouge,” Breaux said. “I’m doing it in Baton Rouge because that’s where I am at to then learn the skills to be able to document it and share it, where anybody can do it across the world.”
