Kent Zerangue, Feeding the Soul in Hospice Care
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What happens when retirement plans transform into a calling? Kent Zerangue didn't set out to build a nonprofit that serves hundreds of meals to hospice patients each week. After 31 years as a corporate executive at Altria, he simply wanted to open a catering business. But when his father entered hospice care months before retirement, everything changed.
A neighbor's homemade gumbo sparked a question that would redirect Kent's entire life: "What if we just cook food and give it away?" That simple thought blossomed into Food with Love, an organization that now prepares up to 800 meals weekly for approximately 140 families facing terminal illness throughout Acadiana. From his humble beginnings cooking in a backyard kitchen, Kent now oversees a million-dollar commercial facility built through community donations and staffed by 110 dedicated volunteers.
The meals—vacuum-sealed, homemade dishes like Adeline's Loaded Baked Potato Soup and Sadie's Spaghetti—provide more than just nourishment. They create doorways for deeper connection. Kent and his "delivery angels" don't just drop off food; they pray with families, provide spiritual support, and continue serving spouses for eight weeks after their loved ones pass. "The food is just a way to get in the door," Kent explains. "Our real mission is to let them know by our actions and words that Jesus loves them and will never abandon them."
Kent's stories of the families he's served—including baby Adeline who lived just six weeks, and fifteen-year-old Sadie who battled bone cancer—reveal the profound impact of showing up with both practical help and spiritual presence during life's most difficult moments. Through Food with Love, Kent demonstrates how retirement can become the most purposeful chapter of life when guided by compassion and faith.
Want to support this vital work? Volunteer as a kitchen or delivery angel by contacting Food with Love through their Facebook page, or purchase Kent's book "Holy Moments on the Journey Home," with all proceeds supporting their food costs.
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