DENHAM SPRINGS, LA — Whole Heart Health has officially installed a new Whole Heart Pantry at the VFW Auxiliary Post 7017 in Denham Springs Historic Downtown, bringing their mission of nutrition education and food access to one of the organization’s most requested locations.
Founder and Executive Director Whitney Andrus was joined by Mr. Vance and Mrs. Debbie Sutton for the pantry installation. The project was completed with the help of installation team member Benjamen Andrus.
“Historic Downtown Denham Springs has been one of our most requested locations, and we are thrilled that the VFW reached out and gave us the opportunity to bring a Whole Heart Pantry to this community,” said Andrus. “We believe access to nourishing food should be paired with the knowledge and confidence to actually use it.”
Whole Heart Pantries are designed differently from traditional community food boxes. Rather than simply providing individual ingredients, the pantries feature complete shelf-stable meals paired with recipes, giving families the tools to recreate the meals at home.
Andrus said this approach was developed after seeing a common challenge with traditional food distribution: individual ingredients can sometimes be left behind because families may not know how to prepare them or may assume there is no way to make them taste good.
“We live in Louisiana. We want flavor and joy in our meals,” said Andrus. “Our goal isn’t just to feed people. It’s dinner with dignity.”
The Whole Heart Pantry model combines food access with nutrition education, helping families see how shelf-stable ingredients can become balanced, flavorful meals. Recipes are intentionally simple, approachable, and designed for duplication, allowing families to take what they learn from the pantry into their own kitchens.
At the heart of Whole Heart Health’s work is the belief that balanced eating should not be reserved for a particular income level.
“We want to educate our communities that balanced eating isn’t something that belongs to people with more money. It’s available to all of us,” Andrus said. “Sometimes the barrier isn’t just having food. It’s knowing what to do with it. We want to help bridge that gap.”
The new Denham Springs pantry is part of Whole Heart Health’s growing network of community pantries serving families throughout the Greater Baton Rouge area. These pantries are stocked with complete shelf-stable meals 1-2 times per week. A full list of pantries currently on Whole Heart Health’s route can be found at
