
The former Second Harvest board chairman, Nick Karl, is speaking out after New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond removed him from the board, following a dispute over money meant for Second Harvest and the Catholic archdiocese's ongoing bankruptcy stemming from numerous lawsuits against the church over its sexual abuse scandal.
Aymond denies claims that the archdiocese wanted the charity to kick in to help pay the church's legal judgments, but Karl says the end result is still hurting the food bank's mission, and ultimately, the less fortunate who are going hungry.
"What really hurts here is that the food bank is hurting, and that the food bank is losing donations and losing volunteers," Karl told WWL's Newell Normand. "And I hear form staff and I hear from folks over the last couple of weeks that at hurting."
Karl says if potential donors are worried bout what happens to the money they give after they donate, he recommends donating non-perishable food or volunteering their tie.
"If you don't want to donate funds and you're concerned about that, donate goods and services," he said. "Do things that can still help feed hungry people."
In the end, Karl says he hopes the community can look past this so it doesn't have a negative effect on the people who need Second Harvest the most.
"I could care less if I'm a board member of Second Harvest Food Bank. I was going to roll off at the end of this year, anyway, and him (Aymond) removing me, he had every right to do that, that's fine," said Karl. "But don't hurt hungry people in south Louisiana. That, to me, is the issue."